Employees of Tasmania’s rail industry are ramping up their calls for ‘increased action’ on rail safety following yet another terrifying near-miss on the state’s network.
Taking to social media, TasRail said the latest incident on Tasmania’s north-west coast was “too important to keep quiet about”.
In the train driver’s dash-cam footage, a truck could be seen making a risky dash across a rail crossing in the River Road industrial area in Wivenhoe as the locomotive rapidly approached.
The truck, which was carrying two containers, only just made it to the other side of the track in time – narrowly missing the tooting train by just milliseconds.
TasRail say their drivers are “regularly facing” these “heart-stopping” scenarios.
“Moments like these aren’t easy to forget. The trains we drive can’t swerve, and can’t quickly stop,” a spokesperson said.
The organisation has thanked those in the trucking industry who do the right thing, but is urging all road users to adopt a more vigilant and responsible approach when navigating near rail crossings.
Tasmania Police have previously noted a decline in the number of level crossing incidents over the past year, yet they remain concerned about the frequency of crashes and near misses.
“When approaching a railway track, stop, look both ways, and listen,” a police spokesperson said.
“Know that trains always have the right of way.”
