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The Kerang train accident occurred on 5 June 2007 at about 13:40 AEST in the Australian state of Victoria, approximately north of the town of Kerang in the state's northwest, and north-northwest of the city of Melbourne. Southbound V/Line passenger train service 8042, which consisted of locomotive N460 and carriage set N7, was run into by a northbound semi-trailer truck, at a level crossing where the Yungera railway line crosses the Murray Valley Highway. The locomotive and first carriage escaped impact as the truck swerved left. However, the second carriage and third carriages were both struck, causing severe damage to the carriages and fatal injury 11 to passengers. Given that the truck had a mass of about 40 tonnes, and had been travelling at 100 km/h, its impact was devastating. The truck, owned by the Canny Carrying Company of Wangaratta and driven by Christiaan Scholl, was extensively damaged on impact with the carriages, although Scholl only sustained shoulder and head injuries. Victoria Police confirmed that 11 people were killed and 23 injured in the crash, making this to date the deadliest Australian rail disaster since 1977. As of 11:00 am on 6 June, two passengers remained unaccounted for.〔("Train crash truckie 'sorry'", ''The Age'', 6 June 2007 ) (Retrieved 6 June 2007)〕 The site was visited on the evening of 5 June by the Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks, who called it a "horrific scene". The train involved in the accident was a locomotive-hauled service from Swan Hill that departed for Melbourne at 13:00, operated by a N class locomotive and three car N type carriage set. The collision caused the closure of nearby sections of the Murray Valley Highway.〔 == 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.〔 The State Premier Steve Bracks flew to the crash scene on the evening of 5 June with the Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby and the Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder, calling it a "horrific scene".〔 Both the Federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services Mark Vaile and the 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.〔〔 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." V/Line announced it would 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.〔 Buses replaced trains between Bendigo and Swan Hill until the crash site was cleared and the site released by accident investigators. Due to the nature of land surrounding the accident site, some earthworks were required to provide a solid footing for the heavy lifting equipment needed to remove the rolling stock damaged in the accident. Once removed from the line, the damaged rolling stock was transported to Melbourne for further investigation,〔 with some of the carriages still in storage in 2008.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Kerang collision carriage BRN20 stored at Newport workshops )〕 The driver of the semi-trailer, Christiaan Scholl, was charged with one count of culpable driving and on 7 June was bailed to appear before Bendigo Magistrates Court on 19 December. A police spokesman stated that more charges were expected to be laid in due course. On 18 August 2008, Scholl was committed for trial on 11 charges of causing death by culpable driving and 8 charges of causing injury by negligent driving. His trial began in Bendigo on 26 May 2009. On 13 June 2009, he was found not guilty on all charges.〔Hagan, Kate: (Kerang driver not guilty ), ''The Age'', 13 June 2009.〕 A group of crash victims indicated they would pursue a civil action against Scholl.〔Best, Catherine; Turnbull, Jeff: (Anger at Kerang train crash verdict ), news.com.au, 14 June 2009.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kerang train accident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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