Sydenham rail disaster
| Sydenham rail disaster | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | 19 December 1953 |
| Location | Sydenham, New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Line | Illawarra |
| Operator | New South Wales Government Railways |
| Incident type | Collision |
| Cause | Wrong-side failure |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Deaths | 5 |
| Injured | 748 |
The Sydenham rail disaster occurred on 19 December 1953 when a New South Wales Government Railways electric passenger train travelling to Bankstown ran into the rear of another electric train travelling to East Hills at Sydenham.
Five people were killed and 748 injured. A wrong-side failure of the signalling system, as a result of human intervention, was believed to be the cause.