Buses were deployed to transport the 115 passengers from Toolamba to Shepparton.
Photo by
Jamie Evans
A passenger on a Shepparton-bound V/Line train that collided with about 20 cows on Thursday night says although the impact felt minor, the sound of rocks being ground to gravel under the train concerned him that the train might have derailed.
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Jamie Evans, 26, of Shepparton was one of 115 passengers on board the 4.07pm Southern Cross Station to Shepparton service when it struck the herd of cattle near Murchison East at about 6.35pm on July 24.
Mr Evans said in the moments before the impact, there wasn’t any verbal warning, but he recalled the train’s horn sounding a lot, “probably trying to scare the cows off the rail”.
“Before the cows were hit, we could feel the train braking abruptly more so than when they pulled into the stations, so we knew something was up before the impact,” Mr Evans said.
“The impact was a small thud, it felt like we’d derailed, especially since right after the hit, we could hear gravel or rocks being ground under the train.
“I thought we had derailed, but when I looked outside we were still travelling straight relative to the guard rails, which we later realised were bridge guard rails.”
Mr Evans said it was so dark he couldn’t see further than a couple of metres past the train.
“We were stuck there for over two hours before we (the train) slowly crawled to Toolamba, where we got on some replacement buses and got to the station,” he said.
He said rather than panic and outrage inside the stranded carriages, passengers were making light of the situation, trying to keep each other’s spirits high.
“We were actually cracking jokes about it all,” Mr Evans said.
“Most of my thoughts were just trying to get as much information to as many people as possible in the train and outside.
“I think most people in these situations really need reassurance with these things and knowing what’s happening and who’s coming makes all the difference.”
Jamie Evans snapped this photo as he disembarked the damaged train on to a ladder at a Toolamba level crossing.
Photo by
Jamie Evans
The first responders he saw were Victoria Police, who he said boarded the train, checking for injured passengers at around 8pm.
Mr Evans, who was uninjured in the incident, was one of the first passengers to disembark from the train at Toolamba, where V/Line says police and SES crews helped everyone exit safely.
With no train platform at Toolamba, ladders were used to assist passengers off the train. Image by Tatura SES.
Photo by
Tatura SES
He boarded a bus at around 9.17pm and finally arrived at Shepparton station around 10.15pm, hours after the 6.50pm schedule that the 4.07pm service usually arrives.
“At that point I wasn’t making regular messages to family, as we finally reunited,” Mr Evans said.
“When I got off the train, I walked around the front and it reeked.
“The panels on the front were obviously damaged and covered in manure and some other nasty stuff that was hard to make heads or tails of in the middle of the night.”
According to Victoria Police, there were no injured passengers.
V/Line said due to its fleet being out of position, Friday’s 5.17am Shepparton to Melbourne service was replaced by road coaches to Seymour, while passengers on the 6.27am Shepparton to Melbourne service were also transported via coach.
“We thank passengers for their understanding following service changes on the Shepparton Line due to an animal strike near Murchison East last night,” a V/Line spokesperson said.
V/Line encouraged passengers to check its website for the latest information before travelling or to speak with staff at stations.
