The New South Wales government will examine whether glass barriers should be installed at more train station platforms after a father and his two-year-old daughter died when a pram rolled into the path of an oncoming train in Sydney.
The premier, Chris Minns, has vowed to “take steps that we need to take to keep people safe” after he praised the 40-year-old father, Anand Runwal, for his attempt to save his twin girls who were in the pram when it fell off the Carlton platform on Sunday.
Runwal and one of the toddlers died. The other twin survived and was retrieved from under the train by police officers.
She and her 39-year-old mother were physically unharmed and taken to St George hospital for assessment. They have since returned to their home in Kogarah.
Minns said on Monday the government would work with the transport regulator, Sydney Trains, and the state coroner to determine how the accident occurred and what could be changed to prevent it from happening again.
“It’s devastating for that family. I can only imagine what they’re going through today,” he said.
“The heroic efforts of the father who instinctively went to try and save his children. Everybody in NSW who has seen those news reports will be horrified that this accident has taken place. We will take steps that we need to take to keep people safe.”
The premier said although he couldn’t commit to erecting glass balustrades like those at metro stations in Sydney and elsewhere overseas “without knowing how that would be implemented”, he would explore all measures.
“We’ll work with our independent regulators to ensure that we keep the people in NSW safe,” Minns said.
Sydney’s newer metro stations have platform “screen doors” that “keep people and objects away from the edge, improving customer safety and allowing trains to get in and out of stations much faster”.
The doors run the full length of the platforms and open at the same time as the train doors.
The premier, who lives just 100 metres from the overground Carlton station, reiterated the dangers presented by public transport and reflected on the challenges families face while traveling with toddlers.
“Public transport can be very unsafe and you do see terrible tragedies,” he said.
The Sydney Trains chief executive, Matt Longland, explained on Sunday that the train was not due to stop at the station and was being driven by two experienced team members.
He said the drivers had approached the station with caution and at a lower speed, as was protocol, but everything would all be examined as part of the investigation.
CCTV from the station has been handed to police. NSW police Supt Paul Dunstan also praised the father’s efforts on Sunday.
“He’s just gone into parent mode and tried to save his two young daughters,” he said. “In doing so, it’s cost him his life. But it was an incredibly brave and heroic act.”
