On this day in 1997 Beresfield train station was wiped out in seconds. On the morning of October 23 coal train DR396 was returning to Port Waratah, Newcastle, after taking on a full load of coal from the Drayton loading terminal in the Hunter Valley. At 6.32am the FreightCorp coal train ran through a red signal and ploughed into the rear of a second coal train.
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The collision caused a massive derailment that blocked all four tracks of the Main Northern line.
Incredibly, no one was killed in the accident with the two drivers of the rogue train leaping from the cabin before impact. The driver and observer suffered serious injuries, as did a person standing on the station platform. The stationmaster also suffered minor injuries.
The three locomotives and first ten coal wagons were derailed, as were three rear wagons. Wreckage blocked both coal roads and adjacent main lines. Beresfield station and associated structures also suffered extensive damage.
Three of the 1994/95-built 82 class locomotives were damaged beyond economic repair.
The collision triggered a huge emergency response involving personnel from police, ambulance, fire brigade, the State Emergency Service and Environment Protection Authority (EPA), as well as the relevant rail organisations and contractors.
As a result of their injuries, both the train driver and observer were only able to recall very limited details of the events leading to the collision.
THE ACCIDENT REPORT
HOW WE REPORTED IT THEN
LUCK AND THE PASSENGER TRAIN
Track work at Hexham could have been the defining factor in this accident.
If there was no construction that day, the situation could have been significantly more costly to human life.
A one minute-and-a-half delay meant that the 6.14am Telarah passenger service was not at the platform when the collision occurred.
The passenger service had 12 travellers on board, who were saved from a potentially fatal accident.
