Gumleaf
March 17th, 2008, 09:01 PM
Tuesday Mar 18 12:19 AEDT
An empty, runaway bus rolled backwards for 150 metres through a roundabout and a fence on to a busy Sydney rail line, missing trains carrying hundreds of people, transport authorities say.
The female driver of the bus was not on board when the bus rolled away from her at Epping, went over an embankment and crashed on to the city-bound track of the Northern Line at around 7.05am (AEDT) on Tuesday.
Authorities say it was lucky no trains were passing at the time.
RailCorp says trains carrying hundreds of people run every five minutes during the busy morning peak on the line.
The bus was lifted off the track by two cranes at about 10.30am (AEDT), a State Transit Authority (STA) spokesman said.
City-bound trains between Hornsby and Eastwood were halted after the crash, a RailCorp spokesman said.
"We had to cut power to the overhead wiring in the area and ran buses in between Hornsby and Eastwood in both directions for a 20-minute period while we got cranes to lift the bus off the track," he said.
"The bus has been removed from the line and we need to inspect the line for any damage.
"At this stage they are inspecting the line but so far there is no damage to report.
"The photos look like the bus has done quite a mischief going over that embankment but we'll wait and see," he said.
The STA said it would be reviewing CCTV footage to see exactly where the driver got off the bus.
The driver was undergoing counselling at the bus depot, an STA spokesman told reporters.
Drivers were entitled to leave a bus unattended while they took a break, but were required to make sure it was secure, he said.
It was possible a mechanical failure was responsible for the bus rolling backwards, the spokesman said.
©AAP 2008
An empty, runaway bus rolled backwards for 150 metres through a roundabout and a fence on to a busy Sydney rail line, missing trains carrying hundreds of people, transport authorities say.
The female driver of the bus was not on board when the bus rolled away from her at Epping, went over an embankment and crashed on to the city-bound track of the Northern Line at around 7.05am (AEDT) on Tuesday.
Authorities say it was lucky no trains were passing at the time.
RailCorp says trains carrying hundreds of people run every five minutes during the busy morning peak on the line.
The bus was lifted off the track by two cranes at about 10.30am (AEDT), a State Transit Authority (STA) spokesman said.
City-bound trains between Hornsby and Eastwood were halted after the crash, a RailCorp spokesman said.
"We had to cut power to the overhead wiring in the area and ran buses in between Hornsby and Eastwood in both directions for a 20-minute period while we got cranes to lift the bus off the track," he said.
"The bus has been removed from the line and we need to inspect the line for any damage.
"At this stage they are inspecting the line but so far there is no damage to report.
"The photos look like the bus has done quite a mischief going over that embankment but we'll wait and see," he said.
The STA said it would be reviewing CCTV footage to see exactly where the driver got off the bus.
The driver was undergoing counselling at the bus depot, an STA spokesman told reporters.
Drivers were entitled to leave a bus unattended while they took a break, but were required to make sure it was secure, he said.
It was possible a mechanical failure was responsible for the bus rolling backwards, the spokesman said.
©AAP 2008