Truck driver has narrow escape

By Paul Dunlop and Callan Date
DISASTER was narrowly averted when a truck collided with a train at Pakenham last Tuesday.
The tipper with a dog trailer was transporting crushed rock along Cardinia Road when it crashed through a boom gate and collided with a Melbournebound train about 3.40pm.
The westbound train was damaged but the 10 or so passengers on board — although badly shaken — were not injured, police said.
The truck driver, a 29yearold Morwell man, was treated for shock at Casey Hospital but later discharged.
The front of the truck was almost completely destroyed.
The incident is the subject of ongoing investigation by Victoria Police, Connex, the Transport Safety Bureau and other authorities.
Police said a potential catastrophe was averted by seconds.
Almost 200 passengers, including school children, were on a Pakenhambound train that was pulled up about 500 metres from the crash scene.
Passengers were transported by bus to the train station where anxious family members waited to meet them.
Ambulance, CFA and SES officials joined police and other investigators at the scene.
Debris was spread for several metres along the railway lines away from the crash scene.
Senior Constable Brad Cummins said the circumstances of the collision were still being established.
But with the train travelling at an estimated 110 kilometres per hour enroute to Flinders Street, and the other Pakenhambound train approaching, it was fair to say a possible disaster was averted by a matter of seconds, he said.
“If that other train had been closer it could have been catastrophic. We are very lucky,” Sen Const Cummins said.
Officer CFA captain Garry Barnes was the first to respond to the call and was responsible for coordinating the CFA response.
He said six CFA units attended the scene, including Pakenham and Narre Warren crews, and helped clean the fuel, oil and debris from the level crossing and track.
Connex spokeswoman Kate De Clerq said the collision caused inconvenience to peakhour commuters, with no trains running between Pakenham and Dandenong stations for almost five hours.
“Buses replaced train services and transported passengers between stations,” Ms De Clerq said. She said passengers and the train driver were uninjured in the collision with normal services resuming at 9.30pm.
Cardinia Road was also blocked for seven hours while the scene was cleared.
Police have appealed for witnesses to contact Sen Const Cummins at Cardinia Traffic Management Unit on 5941 1033.