Article: 'Scared as': teens thrown from seats in train derailment

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From the Melbourne Age click here!

'Scared as': teens thrown from seats in train derailment

'Scared as': teens thrown from seats in train derailment
JARED LYNCH
September 14, 2009 - 11:05AM

The lights went out before Taylor Harlock and her friends were thrust from their seats.

They knew the train they were travelling in had hit something but were oblivious to the extent of devastation until they looked out the window of their carriage.

One of the two locomotives pulling the Warrnambool-bound train had overturned, crashing through a drystone wall at Stoneyford, west of Colac.

A freak windstorm is believed to have caused the derailment about 800 metres south-east of the Cobden-Stoneyford Road about 8.50pm on Saturday night.

The smash halted the Camperdown teenager and her friends' journey for two-hours.

"We had no idea what happened," Taylor, 16, said.

"The lights went out and we were jolted from our seats. I was scared as.

"Then the lights came back on and we looked out the window and saw what happened."

The harsh winds caused three cypress trees to tumble across the line.

Colac Police Sergeant Martin Day said the train's driver attempted to brake when he saw the trees but could not avoid hitting the debris.

One of the two locomotives pulling the train overturned, while the four carriages remained upright.

It was an abrupt end to a Geelong school trip for Taylor and her three friends.

The year 11 Camperdown Mercy Regional College student said V/Line staff urged calm among the train's 72 passengers.

"They came around and offered us food and drinks. We were told to stay inside the train until they had cleared everything up," she said.

"We waited for about two hours for coaches to come and take us home.

"I've seen (images) of what happened. We were very lucky."

The train's two drivers and a female passenger aged in her 60s were treated for minor injuries at South West Healthcare Camperdown hospital.

V/Line chief executive officer Rob Barnett was relieved there were no serious injuries.

Train services on the Warrnambool line will be disrupted until further notice.

Road coaches will run between Warrnambool and Geelong.

Mr Barnett said passengers should allow an extra 40 minutes for their journey.

He expected the wreckage would take several days to clear.

The Warrnambool Standard