Cause
The Stationmaster on duty that fateful night had 20 years of service, including 20 months at Sunshine, but was alone without relief staff. He had been continuously on duty for 10 hours without relief prior to the accident. This state of affairs was reflected in his having applied repeatedly, without avail, for extra qualified assistance.
Four locomotives were involved in the disaster - three AA class locomotives - AA 564 and AA 544 on the Bendigo service and AA 534 and 'Old A' 202 on the Ballarat train.
The Ballarat train was scheduled to arrive at Sunshine at 22.03 hrs, but was struggling to keep time. Upon arrival, it was unable to be fully accommodated at the platform because of the increased holiday consist. After unloading passengers from the front section, it was about to move forward to allow passengers in the rear cars to alight. Whilst these manoeuvres were taking place, the train from Bendigo was due to arrive at 22.30 hrs and was 20 minutes late. As the train from Ballarat prepared to move forward, it was struck from behind by the Bendigo train.
Read more about this topic: Sunshine Rail Disaster