Probably most concerning for airlines is that train tickets are significantly cheaper than airline tickets, especially when the additional costs of taxis and toll road fees are taken into account.

Though 30 of the injured are in intensive care, including several with brain injuries, the toll could have been much worse if the train was traveling at normal speed.

The death toll of the Burnside train crash rose to four yesterday when John Phillips, 32, of Petersville died in Wallsend Hospital.