‘Don’t try to beat the trains’: New warning after cyclist hit at North Adelaide
New details have emerged about the safety features installed at a North Adelaide level crossing where a man was hit on Thursday.
City
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The automatic safety gates and signal lights had not been activated at a North Adelaide station crossing where a cyclist was struck by a train.
A 64-year-old man from West Lakes was riding his bike across the tracks when he was hit on the newly reopened Gawler line at about 5.30pm on Thursday.
The cyclist, who remains in a critical condition, underwent emergency surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis said that while a maze was constructed at the pedestrian crossing, “the gates weren’t activated”.
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said that signalling design works are currently underway and the crossing is expected to be activated with gates that automatically close when trains approach by early 2023.
The crossing, which reopened as a “passive crossing” on May 9, “meets all required safety standards”.
It is one of 13 crossings along the Gawler line that are being upgraded to active crossings.
Following the multiple incidents involving trains over the last few weeks, Mr Koutsantonis wants to increase public education on safety around train lines, as well as look at installing mazes at every train line.
Mr Koutsantonis has said there is “no room for error” when crossing train lines.
“Don’t try to beat the train,” he said on Friday.
“These trains are very unforgiving and we need to respect that.”
Bicycle SA CEO Brett Gillett said that the impact of road trauma is “felt far and wide, including our cycling community”.
“Our heart goes out to the cyclist, his family and the people that provided incredible support in a very difficult situation,” he said.
A former trauma doctor from the RAH, Dr Bill Griggs was waiting on the other side of the tracks when the incident occurred and he was quick to respond.
“I arrived on the opposite side of the train to where the person was lying and there was a police officer and paramedic there and I was eventually able to get their attention,” he told ABC.
He said he was not a hero, saying: “I was just an extra pair of hands”.
“I‘ve responded to events where there have been other paramedics, doctors or people who have stopped to help and often it is those people who witnessed something or who have come across the scene that can do something that’s helpful and make a big difference.”
“Trains are one of those things that you don’t want to be involved in a collision with. Whether you’re on foot, on a bike or in a car, the train always wins.”