A train driver and two passengers have been taken to hospital after a train derailed at Kembla Grange, near Wollongong, in NSW's Illawarra region, early on Wednesday morning.
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Emergency services were called to the train line on West Dapto Road just after 4am, after reports of a train and vehicle crash.
Police have been told the four-carriage train struck an unoccupied vehicle that was on the track, before the front carriage of the train rolled onto its side.
Nine passengers and the train driver were assisted from the carriages, while the driver and two passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
NSW Ambulance Inspector NSW Ambulance Inspector Norm Rees said emergency services faced a chaotic, and dangerous, scene on arrival.
"The scene was chaotic, it was messy," he said.
"Someone had parked a Ford Patrol van across the track and abandoned it; the train has hit it and as a result has derailed.
"Subsequently the first carriage has derailed and ended up on the siding, the second carriage has half tilted and the remaining two carriages remained on track.
"It had taken out all the infrastructure - the guard rails, the signals, there was debris all over the place.
"It had torn up part of the track and brought down power lines which were laying across the cabins and station platform - it was a dangerous scene."
Inspector Rees said the train driver was trapped for some time, prior to being released by NSW Ambulance and Fire and Rescue NSW personnel.
"The train driver, aged 39, was transported to hospital with minor abdominal and back pain, and two passengers were also taken to hospital with minor injuries," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Officers from Lake Illawarra Police District have established a crime scene and commenced an investigation.
The Transport Management Centre has advised that buses are replacing trains between Wollongong and Albion Park on the South Coast Line due to the incident.
Trains will continue to operate between Albion Park and Kiama and between Wollongong and Waterfall.
Passengers may need to change at Wollongong or Albion Park to continue their journey.
Passengers are also advised to allow plenty of extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates.
More to come
