THE State Coroner has urged the Victorian Government and rail authorities to take a fresh approach to the design of dangerous rail intersections, following an inquest into the deaths of three people at St Albans’ Furlong Rd crossing in 2004.
State Coroner Graeme Johnstone last week delivered the long-awaited findings of the inquiry on the three deaths, and apologised to the families of the victims for the delay in the investigation, and for any extra suffering it may have caused.
Rolando Antonio, 49, Lilia Antonio, 51, and Sanuran Muaremi, 47, were killed when a V/Line Sprinter train ploughed into Mr Antonio’s sedan, after the car became stuck on the tracks in busy traffic shortly after 6am on 5 August 2004.
Lilia and Rolando Antonio’s son, Anthony, and Ms Muaremi’s son, Merlin, were in court to hear the coroner’s findings last Wednesday.
Mr Johnstone suggested cameras could be used to help warn train drivers about cars on the tracks at rail crossings or could be used to record motorists who disobey crossing rules.
In his recommendations, the coroner called on rail and road authorities to form a new body to examine the issue of rail crossing safety and design. He also called for greater driver education, and for a review of road rules to increase penalties for motorists who fail to stop at rail crossings.
At the time of the fatal accident, police were busy attending a crash on the corner of Furlong and St Albans Rds, and the coroner concluded the police were not aware of the traffic that had banked up over the railway line.
“This incident has demonstrated the need for police to consider this risk in every future traffic management operation that is in the vicinity of (or may affect) a level crossing,” Mr Johnstone said.
He urged the Chief Commissioner of Police, Christine Nixon, to work with the Department of Infrastructure to help improve police training relating to level crossings, but did not go so far as to blame the officers attending the first crash for the three deaths.
The inquest heard that the train was travelling at 102km/h in a 95km/h zone when it hit the car, and the court was shown a re-creation of what the driver would have seen as he approached the Furlong Rd rail crossing.
“For some reason Mr Antonio, whose vehicle was straddling the rail lines, did not act with any sense of urgency to the rapidly approaching train,” Mr Johnstone said. He said why Mr Antonio failed to move off the track would remain a matter of speculation.
Transport Minister Lynne Kosky last week released a statement welcoming the inquest’s recommendations, and asked the Department of Infrastructure to examine them further.
