Sydney Trains tragedy: Cruel trollls raise questions after death of dad and daughter

Cruel online trolls have raised questions after the deaths of a toddler and her heroic father, who were killed when their pram ended up on the tracks.

The stroller, carrying two-year-old twins, rolled onto the railway tracks at Carlton train station in Sydney’s south at around 12.25pm ​​on Sunday.

The twins’ father, 40-year-old Anand Runwal, jumped from the platform in a brave attempt to save them, but a passing train collided with the vehicle, killing both the father and one of his daughters, Hilal.

Mr Runwal’s wife, Poonam, watched in horror and screamed for her husband and children as another commuter held her down, while police jumped onto the tracks to find her family.

Miraculously, Hilal’s twin sister Hiya was pulled from under the train and survived the accident ‘with barely a scratch’.

New South Wales police are investigating what caused the stroller to overturn and suspect a simple ‘gust of wind’ may have caused the accident.

According to them, the parents appeared to have taken their hands off the stroller ‘very briefly’ before it rolled towards the tracks.

On social media, some cruel trolls claimed the tragedy could have been prevented, just days after the tragic deaths.

“I’m sorry, strollers have brakes. This is tragic, there’s no doubt about it, but why didn’t he just put the brakes on the stroller before leaving it unattended? That’s what most people would do,” one said.

A second added: There are signs everywhere to hold your stroller on the platforms. It’s also common sense. Also, strollers have brakes for exactly this reason.’

Others defended the parents, explaining that it was perfectly normal for the stroller to run away and that the parents may not have been able to concentrate properly.

“This is such a tragedy. One moment of lapse of concentration or looking away from a stroller and the worst happens. Sadly, I’ve almost seen this happen so many times,” said one.

‘My daughter was eight months old when my stroller rolled off the fence onto the street. Unfortunately I forgot to put the brakes on. I was really lucky that she survived without any consequences,’ added a second.

Another wrote: ‘Does anyone commenting on this think for one second that this mother isn’t going to punish herself every day for the rest of her life?’

The twins’ father heroically jumped onto the tracks to save his daughters, but was hit by a passing train, killing him and his daughter Hilal

Miraculously, Hiya survived the accident with ‘barely a scratch on her body’ (pictured Hilal and Hiya)

Cruel trolls are blaming the parents for the death, claiming they were responsible for the stroller rolling onto the tracks and that they should have applied the stroller’s brakes (pictured is the family minutes before the tragic accident)

Michael Maartensz, principal owner and consultant at Railway Safety 101, told Daily Mail Australia the horrific accident was caused by a “tragic combination of circumstances”.

Mr Maartensz explained that it appeared as if the pram had been left unattended for a moment and that a gust of wind, combined with the slope of the platform, had pushed the pram onto the rails.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Mr Maartensz said passenger screen doors were the “ultimate solution” to preventing fatalities at train stations.

Passenger or platform doors weigh 175 kilograms, are about 2.5 meters high and 170 meters long. They form a barrier between the platform and the rails.

NSW Sydney Metro has rolled out the safety measures at its eight new city stations, including Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street, Central, Waterloo and Sydenham.

However, he claimed that the government has no desire to install passenger doors at existing stations as it is too expensive.

“It’s really not on their radar. It would cost a lot of money, but man, it would definitely save lives and in this case it would have saved two lives,” Mr. Maartensz said.

‘It is simply a pity that such railway infrastructure is not yet available on all networks.’

The safety expert added that additional warning signs alerting parents to the dangers of strollers on platforms would be cost-effective and could be implemented immediately.

Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland admitted that installing crash barriers across the network would be a huge challenge.

He said the size of Sydney’s rail network, which consists of 500 platforms and different types of trains, presented significant logistical and structural challenges.

The [train] ‘The doors are spaced at different distances, so for a platform screen door to work effectively it needs to be exactly aligned with the train doors as they stop on the platform,’ Mr Longland told 7 News.

‘And the signaling system must ensure that the train can stop at exactly that point on the platform.’

Rail Safety 101 Michael Maartensz said passenger doors with screens (pictured) are the ‘ultimate solution’ to prevent fatal accidents at train stations