It’s a tragic day in Australian history that we remember all too well. On Tuesday, 18th January 1977 a commuter train left Mount Victoria station, bound for Sydney CBD but never made it. On the approach to Granville Station just after 8am, the train derailed and struck supports for the Bold Street bridge, causing more than 470 tonnes of concrete and steel to collapse onto carriages three and four.
The rescue effort was huge with many people risking their lives to try and free those trapped. The disaster killed 84 passengers, injured more than 210 and affected more than 1300 people. It is listed as Australia’s worst rail disaster.
Vintage FM’s Drive time announcer John Bond recalls working on the breakfast show for Radio Station 2LF in Young, NSW, that morning when their usual news feed from 2SM didn’t come through. It wasn’t until many hours later that they received word of the disaster – the landline that transmitted to them and many other radio stations ran along the Bold Street bridge and was cut when it collapsed.
On January 18 every year since the Granville disaster, survivors, rescuers and loved ones of those killed gather on the Bold Street bridge for a memorial service, dropping 84 roses to remember those lost.
Today we are thinking of everyone who was involved with and / or affected by the terrible disaster.
