A rail safety expert has claimed a perfect storm of tragic circumstances led to the deaths of a toddler and her heroic father when a pram rolled onto the tracks.
The pram, carrying two-year-old twins, overturned onto the train tracks at Carlton station in Sydney’s south at about 12.25pm on Sunday.
The twins’ father, Anand Runwal, 40, jumped off the platform in a brave attempt to save them, but a passing train collided, killing the father and one of the twins.
Mr Runwal’s wife Poonam watched in horror, screaming for her husband and children as another commuter held her back while police jumped onto the track to try to locate her family.
Miraculously, one of the twin girls was rescued from under the train and escaped the accident “with just a scratch.”
Michael Maartensz, principal owner and consultant of Railway Safety 101, told Daily Mail Australia that the horrific accident was caused by a “tragic set of circumstances”.
Mr Maartensz said it appeared the pram had been left unattended for a moment and a gust of wind, combined with the tilt of the platform, pushed it onto the tracks.
Anand Runwal and his wife Poonam Runwal moved to Sydney in October 2023 with their two-year-old twin daughters.
The pram, carrying two-year-old twin girls, slid onto the train tracks at Carlton railway station in Sydney’s south on Sunday.
The twins’ father heroically jumped onto the tracks to try to save his daughters, but was hit by a passing train, killing him and one of the girls.
The safety official, who previously worked as a Senior Rail Safety Officer at the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator, said screened passenger doors would have prevented the accident.
The platform or passenger doors weigh 175 kilograms, are approximately 2.5 metres high and extend 170 metres, creating a barrier between the platform and the track.
NSW Sydney Metro has installed the safety measure at its eight new stations across the city, including Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street, Central, Waterloo and Sydenham.
Mr Maartensz said passenger screen doors were the “ultimate solution” to preventing accidental deaths at train stations.
“Screen doors would have prevented this tragic accident, there is no doubt about that,” Maartensz said.
‘They are designed to prevent people from accidentally approaching moving trains at railway stations.
“In this case, the stroller would have simply hit the passenger screen door and stopped. That’s the ultimate solution.”
However, he said the government would not be “willing” to install passenger screen doors at existing stations because it is too expensive.
“It’s not really in their plans. It would cost a lot of money, but, wow, it would save lives, no doubt, and in this case, it would have saved two lives,” Maartensz said.
“It’s really unfortunate that that kind of rail infrastructure doesn’t exist on all networks at the moment.”
Railway Safety 101 principal owner and consultant Michael Maartensz told Daily Mail Australia the horrific accident was caused by a “tragic set of circumstances”.
Mr Maartensz said passenger screens, such as those installed on the Sydney Metro network in New South Wales (pictured), were the “ultimate solution” to preventing accidental deaths at stations.
Mr Maartensz said other safety measures, such as warning signs for parents with prams or even a ridge at the edge of the platform, were also ideas that could help prevent deaths.
“It wouldn’t cost us much to put up signs to make parents aware of the dangers of baby strollers on station platforms,” Maartensz said.
In this case, the parents with the stroller used the elevator to go down to the platform.
‘So perhaps a sign inside the elevator warning them not to leave the stroller unattended and to use the stroller brakes while on the platform might have been a trigger for them to be more alert.’
Police are investigating what caused the stroller to overturn and believe a simple “gust of wind” could have caused the accident.
Mr Maartensz said the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator would also launch an independent investigation into the deaths at Carlton station.
Mr Maartensz said investigations will determine the root cause of the incident and make key recommendations for the industry on how to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“This is a serious incident that has resulted in fatalities, and there is no doubt that operators and the industry will take this seriously,” Maartensz said.
‘Operators should take note of these serious circumstances and I believe they will implement the recommendations, or at least some of them.’
Mr Maartensz suggested that warning signs be installed at train stations to warn parents with strollers of the dangers on the platform (pictured: Anand and Poonam Runwal with their twin daughters minutes before the tragic accident).
SYdney Trains chief executive Matthew Longland told Sunrise on Monday he did not want to speculate on the outcome of the police investigation but said recommendations to improve safety would be considered.
“Our first priority is to support those involved and work with the investigation to ensure we have all the appropriate facts so we can fully understand the incident,” Longland said.
‘We will take into consideration all recommendations arising from the investigation. I would like to remind everyone to take special care on the platforms when travelling on the railway network.
‘Stay behind the yellow line and away from the edge of the platform. Train stations are very dangerous places.’
Mr Runwal and his wife Poonam moved from India to Sydney with their twin daughters in October 2023 after landing a job at an IT company in North Sydney.
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