Stolen key gives thieves access to all Sydney trains

SYDNEY - Two men have stolen a Sydney train driver's set of keys, giving them access to every train in the metropolitan area.

Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper today quotes a terrorism expert as saying the theft has revealed a "basic flaw" in rail security, because just one key can not only give access to all trains but also start them.

A spokesman for RailCorp told the paper it was taking the matter "very seriously", but would not change the locks on its trains.

Instead, as of last night, it had increased security around its sidings, with more patrols by private security guards and transit officers.

The spokesman said a "range of security measures" meant a train could not be stolen, even with the keys.

But a second RailCorp spokesman said later it was "too early" to decide whether the locks would have to be changed.

The paper says police are concerned that the two robbers specifically targeted the driver's keys during the robbery on her train at Gordon in Sydney's north at 12.16 am (AEST) yesterday.

The two balaclava-clad men, one armed with a tree branch, bailed up the driver as she was about to take the supposedly empty train back to a siding from Gordon.

Terrorism expert Clive Williams told the paper he was surprised that RailCorp did not intend to re-key all of its trains, considering the security risk the theft had highlighted.

"It's a worry obviously that someone could now get on a train (after hours) and they could hide an explosive device aboard," he said.

- AAP