Just don’t take that chance, folks…
There’s a reason that level crossings are well marked with barriers and flashing lights, and there’s a reason that railway stations have flyover walkways. It’s because, in the battle of humans versus trains, we’re overwhelmingly outgunned.
Iarnród Éireann has urged an end to track trespass, as the company revealed that train drivers had 32 ‘Category 1’ near misses in 2016 with trespassers, which required drivers to hit the brakes to avoid hitting a person.
In a bid to highlight the dangers of track trespass, Iarnród Éireann released footage from one station on their lines, Kilbarrack, where a person narrowly avoided being struck by a fast-moving train in December 2016.
The Dublin to Belfast Enterprise can travel through this station at up to 140 kilometres per hour.
Other clips at the station included in the video show people on bikes crossing the track and even a toddler being carried across in stroller.
Video via Iarnrod Eireann
In a statement, Iarnród Éireann said:”Any one of these trespass incidents at Kilbarrack, or any one of the 32 ‘Category 1’ near misses around the network could have resulted in a tragic and needless death or catastrophic injuries.
“A parent carrying a stroller who falls and hurts themselves or their child leaves the driver of the train in an impossible situation – trains take considerable distances to come to a halt even at moderate speeds, and a train cannot swerve around a stricken trespasser.”
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