Girl’s death sparked upgrades, court told Rail tragedy inquest

Hamish Heard
The death of a teenage girl in a collision with a train at North Shore led to safety upgrades at 22 stations across Victoria.
A barrister for the mother of 14-year-old Sarah Stringer revealed the improvements to barrier fencing at the opening of a Geelong inquest yesterday into the schoolgirl’s death.
Coroner Paresa Spanos heard that a V/Line investigation into the girl’s death in September, 2005, had prompted the fencing upgrades.
The Norlane schoolgirl was running late for a train to Melbourne when she attempted to cross the tracks and was struck by an express train.
Her distraught mother, Kerry Stringer, who witnessed the tragedy, later told how Sarah had dropped some items of clothing on the tracks and turned around to pick them up when she was hit.
At the time of the accident North Shore Railway Station did not have a fence between its car park and the tracks.
Residents later described the station as an accident waiting to happen.
Mrs Stringer’s barrister, Angus Macnab, said V/Line had installed fencing at North Shore station and 21 other stations throughout Victoria following the tragedy.
Mr Macnab tried unsuccessfully to have the inquest postponed, arguing V/Line had failed to supply details of an investigation which led to construction of the fence until the day before yesterday’s hearing.
Ms Spanos denied the request, saying it was no secret V/Line had erected the fence as a result of the accident.
She said a pedestrian crossing nearby “appeared to be working” at the time of the accident.
“The safety of the surrounding area appeared to have been addressed by the fence,” she said.
V/Line chief executive officer Rob Barnett was due to give evidence at the inquiry yesterday after the Independent went to press yesterday.