Graham Leslie Martin pleaded guilty to a single dangerous driving charge on Wednesday.

He was given a one-year good behaviour bond without conviction for the crash between his truck and a train travelling from Echuca to Melbourne with around 40 passengers on July 13, 2022.

Magistrate Russell Kelly said the charge would be considered proven and dismissed.

The court heard Martin was attending an address on Holmes Road in north Goornong with his prime mover attached to a semi-trailer, in order to collect hay bales to transport to Mansfield.

The collision occurred after Martin turned left from the Midland Highway on to a 90m access road leading towards Holmes Road.

The court heard this access road had a railway track halfway along and the gates that would otherwise have prevented access had been opened earlier that morning by the man from the property Martin was visiting.

The court saw dashcam footage of Martin crossing the track slowly as a Melbourne-bound train approached his vehicle from his right.

Police prosecutor Abdul Fakhouri said that at 8.04.50am the train was 230 metres away from the site of the collision and travelling at 70km/h when the driver issued a whistle.

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The court heard that at 69 metres from the incident the train driver applied the emergency brakes and issued a high note whistle but Martin continued to cross.

The impact split the semi-trailer in two.

Martin, who admitted he had not been wearing a seatbelt, was thrown out the window of the truck.

A witness provided first aid before Martin was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The court heard extensions on air cleaners outside the truck cabin and the treeline around the collision site may have impacted Martin's vision.

"I obviously didn't see the train, I've been over the train tracks and the train has hit me," he told police.

Martin faced life-changing injuries as a result of the collision, including a broken fibula, injuries to his ribs and a shattered knee. No one else was injured.

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Martin, who has been driving trucks for 30 years with no prior convictions, has also had his neck fused as a result of the accident and has not been able to return to truck driving.

Defence lawyer Luke Doherty said Martin had "clearly not seen the train at all".

The court heard Martin believed the crossing would be closed and did not see the train.

Defence lawyer Luke Doherty said footage showed the truck driver had gone "very slowly over (the train) lines".

"You can't avoid what you can't see or hear," Mr Docherty told the court.

Magistrate Kelly said Martin was "very lucky to be alive to tell the story" and said he accepted the truck driver had not seen the train.

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