Sad twist for mother who lost daughter and husband in Sydney train tragedy

A woman whose husband and young daughter died in a tragedy at a Sydney train station could be deported from the country in a matter of days.

Witnesses watched on in horror when a pram carrying twin two-year-old girls rolled onto the tracks at Carlton Railway Station as an oncoming train bore down on Sunday afternoon.

The girls’ father, Anand Runwal, 40, jumped onto the tracks and tried to save his daughters, as bystanders tried to alert the train, but it was too late.

Anand and the pram were struck by the train, killing him and one of the girls, as his wife Poonam Runwal remained on the platform.

However, just days after the tragedy, Anand’s wife Poonam Runwal and her surviving daughter face deportation as they were dependants on her husband’s working visa.

7NEWS understands the immigration minister is seeking more information from police before deciding whether they can stay in Australia.

The Department of Foreign Affairs told 7NEWS.com.au it “actively works with visa holders to ensure they can maintain their visa status — particularly where the visa holder or their family has been impacted by adverse or tragic circumstances”.

Meanwhile, shocked locals are reacting to the horrific accident, leaving flowers and tributes at the station.

“I don’t know what to say ... it’s heartbreaking,” a local told 7NEWS. “Even my daughter, she said, when she dropped me off this morning, Mum, please, be careful with the pram.

“I feel so sad for the family and, you know, I feel so sad for the mother.”

Another local, Sam Barrington-Smith, told 7NEWS: “It’s a pretty small community around here ... so when things like this happen, you just sort of just feel for everyone regardless of whether we knew him or not.”

“It’s very hard to console yourself with the idea that this has happened,” another local added.

The mother and girl were discharged from St George Hospital on Sunday night.

7NEWS understands Anand and his wife Poonam had moved from India to Sydney after Runwal secured a new job.

M.K Singh, who runs a Hindi language school where Poonam occasionally volunteers, told 7NEWS Anand worked as an IT engineer and was a “very social and very pleasant kind of person”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the man made an instinctive and heroic effort to save his children.

“It’s devastating for that family ... I can only imagine what they’re going through,” he told reporters on Monday.

Multiple investigations into the horrific incident — including a coronial inquiry — would identify any necessary changes to improve safety.

But Minns said he would not immediately commit to any measures, such as the installation of glass barricades used on metro stations, until he knew how they could be implemented.

“We will take steps that we need to take to keep people safe,” he said.

“Unfortunately, public transport, particularly train stations, can be dangerous and it’s incumbent upon everybody to be as safe as possible.”

Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said the train, which was not due to stop, had approached the station with caution as drivers were instructed to do, but its speed would form part of an investigation into the incident.

All the relevant information, including CCTV footage from the station, had been handed over to police, he said.

The National Rail Safety Regulator has been notified and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

NSW Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan said the father of the twins went into “parent mode” after their pram rolled in front of the train.

“In doing so, it’s cost him his life, but it’s an incredibly brave and heroic act by the dad,” he said on Sunday.

The girl who survived was saved by “good luck more than anything”.

“The police that climbed under the train said that she was sort of in between the tracks, the way that she’d fallen, and she was largely untouched,” he said.

Poonam is currently being supported by friends and family and the local Indian community.

“But she’s clearly in a state of shock and struggling with what’s happened,” Dunstan said.

- With AAP