‘A bridge has collapsed on top of a train at Granville railway station’

The Granville rail disaster occurred 41 years ago on Tuesday 18 January, 1977. 

The 2UE coverage beginning at 8:12am on the day reported that a bridge had collapsed on trains at Granville Station in western Sydney. A young Paul Makin (now a South Australia-based TV and radio journalist) arrived at the scene soon after. 

‘The scene is unbelievable here, where the bridge has completely collapsed onto several trains. It’s hard to describe, I’ll do my best.

‘…one train here is absolute match wood … the roadway has collapsed.’

An emergency serviceman’s voice can be heard in the background, warning through a loudspeaker  ‘…move back from that side of the bridge, there’s danger of it collapsing.’

Makin describes the disaster around him: the carriage doorways ripped off to be used as stretchers, people wandering dazed around the wreckage, and workers from the nearby butcher shop and those who happened to be there helping the victims in any way they can.

‘Were you in one of the carriages, mate?’  ​Makin asks.

‘In the front one. Next minute we were upside down, all over the place, then the carriage burst like a tin of sardines.’

‘You’ve got blood all over you, are you okay?’​

‘I saw a few things during the war, and it’s not very nice to look at them again.’ 

The worst rail disaster in Australian history, 84 people lost their lives in the Granville rail disaster, and more than 210 were injured. 

Listen to the 2UE broadcast below.
 
 

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