Sydney Trains: Twist after woman killed after she was struck down at Punchbowl Station

Australians have questioned why a Vietnamese woman went to retrieve a lost item from the tracks before she was fatally struck by a train in Sydney's west.

Tuyet Nguyen, 52, was on holiday in Sydney visiting family when she was hit by the train at Punchbowl station on Tuesday afternoon.

Ms Nguyen is understood to have dropped her slipper and climbed onto the tracks, but she was unable to get back onto the platform before the train arrived.

An eight-carriage train travelling at 100km/h can take 500metres to stop, meaning the tragedy may not have been prevented even if the driver saw her on the tracks.

It is illegal to enter a railway corridor unless you are walking or driving across a level crossing.

Many Australians insisted the incident could have been avoided if Ms Nguyen had asked for help to recover the lost item.

'I can't understand why she didn't go to the train guard and let them arrange retrieving her shoe, unnecessary tragedy and such a traumatic death,' one person wrote online.

'RIP, and condolences to her family, but really over a slipper! I can't help to be sorry and angry at the same time,' another said.

A third added: 'Sad that one slipper has caused grief and trauma for countless people.

'The girl's family, the train driver, their families, first responders, the witnesses, their families, the people on the train. The effects of this will be felt for years to come.'

However many Aussies sympathised with Ms Nguyen, suggesting that she may not have been aware of the risks. 

'In Vietnam, they have that slow-moving train at ground level where all the markets are, and it just goes through,' one said.

'Ours are not designed the same way, and there's no way out or safe, accessible space for people to go to if they fall off platforms.'

Others said commuters should think about how their actions affect train drivers.

'People always seem to forget the impact this has on the driver,' one person wrote.

A second added: 'I hope the train driver will be alright, it's not his fault.'

Another added: 'The driver and emergency crews have to deal with this unnecessary death as well.

'Condolences to her family, but let it be a lesson to us all. Trains are not cars, they just don't stop abruptly.'

The tragedy occurred at peak hour, with authorities shutting down train services between Campsie and Bankstown in Sydney's inner west as emergency crews worked to free Ms Nguyen from beneath the locomotive.

She was immediately transferred to an ambulance before being taken to St George Hospital where she died on Wednesday morning.

Police have spoken with a number of witnesses and have reviewed CCTV as part of their inquiries.

The train driver returned a negative breath test.

On Wednesday, Ms Nguyen's nephew Toan Huyn told Daily Mail Australia his aunt holidayed in Australia to visit her sister every year.

Ms Nguyen regularly shared photos of her visits of Sydney to social media  including a holiday in 2022 and a trip last year where she posted images of the Opera House.