The Kerang train collision occurred on 5 June 2007 at about 1:40 pm AEST in the Australian state of Victoria, approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of the town of Kerang in the state's northwest, and about 285 kilometres (177 mi) northwest of the city of Melbourne. A southbound V/Line passenger train and a northbound semi-trailer truck collided at a level crossing where the Swan Hill railway line crosses the Murray Valley Highway. Victoria Police confirmed that 11 people were killed and 23 injured in the crash.^[1][2] As of 11:00 am on the 6th of June, two passengers remained unaccounted for.^[3] The site was visited on the evening of 5 June by the Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks, who called it a "horrific scene".^[4] Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... This article is about the Australian town . ... Capital Melbourne Government Constitutional monarchy Governor David de Kretser Premier Steve Bracks (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 37  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $222,022 (2nd)  - Product per capita  $44,443/person (5th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  5,110,500 (2nd)  - Density  22. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... The Swan Hill line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... In mainland Australia, the keeping of standard time is divided into three time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time EST/AEST (UTC+10), Australian Central Standard Time CST/ACST (UTC+9:30) and Australian Western Standard Time WST/AWST (UTC+8). ... Capital Melbourne Government Constitutional monarchy Governor David de Kretser Premier Steve Bracks (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 37  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $222,022 (2nd)  - Product per capita  $44,443/person (5th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  5,110,500 (2nd)  - Density  22. ... km redirects here. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... This article is about the Australian town . ... Melbournes CBD has grown to straddle the Yarra River in three major precincts. ... V/Line is a regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. ... The term level crossing (also called a railroad crossing, railway crossing, train crossing or grade crossing) is a crossing on one level (at-grade intersection) — without recourse to a bridge or tunnel — of a railway line by a road, path, or another railroad. ... The Swan Hill line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. ... The Murray Valley Highway (Route B400) follows the south side of the Murray River in Victoria, Australia. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... List of Premiers of Victoria Before the 1890s there was no formal party system in Victoria. ... Steve Bracks (born October 15, 1954), Australian politician, has been Premier of Victoria since 1999. ...

The train involved in the accident was a locomotive-hauled service from Swan Hill that departed for Melbourne at 1:00pm.^[5] The collision caused the closure of nearby sections of the Murray Valley Highway.^[4] Town Hall Swan Hill ( ) is a city in the north west of Victoria, Australia. ... Melbournes CBD has grown to straddle the Yarra River in three major precincts. ... The Murray Valley Highway (Route B400) follows the south side of the Murray River in Victoria, Australia. ...

Response

Emergency response was swift, with a number of seriously injured people airlifted to Melbourne while others were taken by road or air ambulance to nearby Kerang Hospital.^[4] Premier Bracks flew to the crash scene on the evening of 5 June with Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby and Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder, calling it a "horrific scene".^[6][4]

Both the Federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services Mark Vaile and Prime Minister John Howard spoke to the media, offering Federal government aid to families as well as the investigative assistance of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.^[4][7] Leader of the Opposition Kevin Rudd said that he was "saddened and shocked" by the incident and went on to say that his "thoughts and prayers tonight are with those still fighting for their life in hospitals throughout Victoria."^[8] Hon Mark Vaile Eric William Day (born 18 April 1956), Australian politician, is the leader of the Nationals and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. ... Judicial High Court Lower Courts Constitution State and territory governments Executive Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Legislative Parliaments and Assemblies State electoral systems ACT - NSW - NT - Qld. ... John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939), Australian politician, is the Prime Minister of Australia. ... The Australian Transport Safety Bureau [1] (ATSB) is an operationally independent body within the Australian Government Department of Transport and Regional Services and is Australia’s prime agency for transport safety investigations. ... The Opposition in Australia fulfils the same function as the official opposition in other Commonwealth of Nations monarchies. ... Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957), is the leader of the federal Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Parliament. ...

V/Line announced it will support a full inquiry and had arranged counselling for the passengers and their families. Chief executive Rob Barnett said the incident would raise questions about the safety of level crossings, but asked everyone to resist jumping to conclusions.^[5] Train services between Bendigo and Melbourne were not affected by the accident, but buses were replacing trains between Bendigo and Swan Hill until the crash site had been cleared.^[9][10]

Work is set to commence on restoring services once the accident site has been released by accident investigators.^[11] Due to the nature of land surrounding the accident site, some earthworks will be required to provide a solid footing enabling heavy lifting to be used for the removal of rolling stock damaged in the accident.^[11] Once removed from the line, the damaged rolling stock will be transported to a secure facility in Melbourne for further investigation.^[11] The City of Melbournes coat of arms The central business district of Melbourne, viewed from the north Alternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation) Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 52,117 in the Central...

The driver of the semi-trailer was charged with one count of culpable driving and on June 7 was bailed to appear before Bendigo Magistrates Court on December 19. A police spokesman stated that more charges are expected to be laid in due course.^[12][13]

Incident

The cause of the accident is yet to be determined. One survivor recalls, "A lady sitting across from me saw the truck and closed her eyes. You just wonder how anybody got out."^[7] Image File history File links WikiNews-Logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ...

Ursula McGuiness, General Manager for V/Line noted that the level crossing was protected with lights and bells, which were still sounding and flashing when emergency services arrived, but did not have boom gates.^[4] A boom barrier is a bar, or pole pivoted in such a way as to allow the boom to block vehicular access through a controlled point. ...

Recently, there had been timetable changes on the line according to Kerang resident and Gannawarra Shire councillor Lui Basile.^[7] Gannawarra Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. ...

See also

• Railway accidents in Victoria
• List of disasters in Australia by death toll
• List of rail accidents - includes level crossing accidents.

This is a list of disasters in Australia sorted by death toll. ... List of rail accidents from 2000 to the present. ... The term level crossing (also called a railroad crossing, railway crossing, train crossing or grade crossing) is a crossing on one level (at-grade intersection) — without recourse to a bridge or tunnel — of a railway line by a road, path, or another railroad. ...

References