The man in his 20s said he had only got out of the car moments before the collision when he realised his Honda Jazz was stuck on train tracks in Midvale, in the city’s north-east.
The driver said he had been following a GPS system when he drove onto the tracks, thinking they were a road in the darkness.
The nearest street lights to the scene of the collision are at least 50m away.
Read Related Also: Robert De Niro’s 19-year-old grandson Leandro is dead, reveals mom Drena
The force of the train hitting the small hatchback sent the car flying 50m down the tracks.
The incident has prompted renewed calls to improve visibility on Western Australian roads.