Driver escapes death by seconds by jumping out before his car was crushed by a freight train

A driver in South Australia has been lucky to escape with his life after he jumped from his car that was stuck on railway trucks seconds before a freight train barrelled into it.

The hatchback became stuck while the driver was trying to make a U-turn at the rail crossing on Jeffrey Street in the Adelaide Hills suburb of Nairne just after 9pm on Thursday.

At the same time a 2500-tonne freight train was travelling on the tracks.

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With just seconds to spare the driver managed to jump out of his car before the train smashed through his vehicle.

The collision was so strong that the car was pushed more than 100 metres.

The driver was uninjured.

Some locals who saw the aftermath said it was a frightening sight.

"Pretty scary, pretty overwhelming," Olivia Tremaine said.

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Zack Andrew described seeing the broken up bits of the car strewn across the tracks.

"I stuck my head over the back fence and there was like a tail light of the car and a couple of bumper pieces and that was it."

Emergency services closed the railway line for several hours.

The car was towed and the train was allowed to continue its trip towards Melbourne.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Railway regulators have ruled that all signage and road markings at the crossings meet safety standards.