This week marked 45 years since the Northern Territory's worst railway accident. Just after 5am on a November morning in 1972, a train fully loaded with iron ore crashed into a stationary train at Darwin's Frances Bay rail yards. One railway official said, "I never saw anything like it. I ran down there expecting to be pulling bodies out of the wreckage." But incredibly, there were no casualties, even among the crew of the runaway train, who had realised it was out of control and jumped out in time. However the accident destroyed over $1 million worth track and rolling stock.
Published: 12 November 2017