ABC Upper Hunter

Topic: Train Accidents

Sunday, 26 July 2026, 3:14 pm

A train moved without a driver before stopping a few kilometers away.

In short:

A coal train with no driver moved several kilometers after starting to roll downhill during a crew change.

The train went faster than 60 kilometers per hour.

What's next?

Train services have started again while officials investigate the incident.

Officials are looking into a runaway coal train incident in the Hunter Valley.

The coal train had no driver and moved through level crossings.

Pacific National said the incident happened in the Hunter Valley.

The company said, 'An incident happened with one of our coal services on 25 July 2026.'

There were no injuries, and no trains crashed or derailed.

Pacific National told the authorities about the incident.

The company said safety is their top priority and they are working with officials to find out what happened.

The train stopped near Glennies Creek, and crews cleared the line by midday.

The train started moving on its own during a crew change and went very fast.

Pacific National did not answer questions about how the train had no driver and how fast it went.

The train was stopped near a level crossing at Glennies Creek.

The Office of National Rail Safety is investigating the incident.

The Office said they sent a team to the Hunter Valley to look into the incident.

Luckily, nobody was hurt.

The Office is looking into what happened and is getting information from the train company.

The incident stopped coal and passenger trains for 36 hours.

Coal and passenger trains were delayed for 36 hours.

A locomotive was damaged, but no train derailed.

The line was cleared by midday on Sunday.

See more news from ABC.

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