A man has had his bail revoked and is facing a string of charges after a train derailed in the NSW Illawarra, leaving four people injured. 

Allan Martin Simpson remains in custody until his next court appearance after his bail was formally withdrawn in Wollongong Local Court on Thursday.

The 47-year-old Berkeley man allegedly stole a van from a nearby home and abandoned it at Kembla Grange tracks before dawn on October 20, causing the train to derail. 

Court documents reveal he had previously been granted bail on August 9 for another matter. 

He now faces numerous additional charges including endangering the safety of a person on the railway, causing obstruction to the railway, taking a conveyance without consent and driving while disqualified. 

Last week the South Coast line commuter train slammed into the van causing the front carriage to shear off the tracks, landing in a nearby paddock. 

The driver became trapped while the remainder of the train rolled onto its side.

Some 13 occupants of the train were freed, with four people taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

A man was seen running from the tracks shortly before the fast-moving train hit the van, and police began a criminal investigation into the incident.

Lake Illawarra detectives arrested Simpson at Dapto about 1.30pm on Wednesday.

He is next due to face court on November 3 for charges relating to the train crash, and on December 13 for alleged criminality in a separate matter.

AAP

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