Commuter Train Strikes Vehicle at Australian Level Crossing: One Dead as Police Probe Safety Failure at Crossing

Adelaide, Australia— The gates were down. Or they were not. On Tuesday afternoon a commuter train running the Adelaide Metro Seaford line struck a vehicle at a level crossing south of the city. One person inside the car died.

South Australia Police said the collision occurred at 2:05 p.m. at a crossing near Seaford Meadows, where the line crosses a two-lane road used by local traffic. The train, with 60 passengers aboard, was traveling at 80 kmph. The car entered the crossing as the train approached.

Witnesses gave conflicting accounts. Some said the warning lights flashed but the boom gate hesitated. Others said the driver tried to beat the train. The car's front was sheared off. Debris spread 50 meters along the track. The driver, a man in his seventies, died at the scene.

"The train horn was long and loud," a resident whose house overlooks the crossing said. "Then a bang that shook windows. Dust. Then silence." She ran to the crossing. Police told her to stay back.

Paramedics treated two train passengers for shock. The rail operator, Adelaide Metro, suspended services on the Seaford line for six hours. Replacement buses ran late. Commuters stood on platforms watching police measure skid marks that did not exist.

Level crossing deaths remain stubborn in Australia. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau reports around 35 collisions a year at crossings, many at passive crossings with no gates. This crossing has active protection. The inquiry will check if it worked.

South Australia Police Major Crash unit seized the crossing's data logger and the train's black box. The vehicle was removed by crane at dusk. The crossing's asphalt still shows a gouge where metal dragged.

The Department for Infrastructure said it will review sight lines and maintenance logs for the crossing. That review was due last year.

Tonight the line is open again. Flowers lie near the gate. One car is in the police yard, crushed.