A metro train in Sydney, Australia, derailed Wednesday when a piece of metal jabbed through the floor of a passenger car and rose up through the train. Passengers on the train knew there was something wrong even before the incident, in that the train made loud noises and emitted a burning smell since it left Bondi Junction. As the train neared the Edgecliff Station, a metal bar was sheared off the concrete below the train. Passenger Kiriana Buffett was near the point where the bar entered the car.
"I just remember seeing it punch through the floor and then towards me – I don't know what happened next," said Ms Buffett, who sat in shock for 20 minutes after the incident. "Someone said it slowed down but I didn't see it go slow at any stage. I'm pretty lucky to be alive actually."
The chief executive of Sydney Trains, Howard Collins, said the bar that broke through the carriage was a piece of "metal channelling" attached to a concrete walkway near Edgecliff Station.
The train stopped, and its 700 passengers were evacuated. One line of the railway was closed, but was reopened by Thursday. -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Tania Pires)