More than 2100 people illegally entered NSW train corridors in last 12 months
Alarming footage has been released of crazy behaviour on NSW’s train network in the past year, including kids playing chicken with 400-tonne trains and people jumping out of moving carriages.
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There is a blunt message for schoolchildren playing chicken with 400-tonne trains and taggers trying to make their mark on carriages across NSW — “you will die”.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance and Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins have admonished the more than 2100 people caught illegally entering NSW’s rail corridors in the past 12 months.
Mr Constance the “crazy” behaviour, often performed and filmed by youngsters seeking five minutes of fame on social media, had left some people with disabilities or worse.
“Don’t play Russian roulette with a 400-tonne train because you won’t win,” he said.
“Some of these trains travel at 100km/h, there’s no chance for the driver to pull it up.”
He said people were ignoring a maximum $5500 fine and constant safety messages to put their lives at risk: “We really need people to just wake up.
“The 2100 people who have illegally entered rail corridors this year are just plain wrong and plain stupid to have done so.
“We will continue to educate but we cannot legislate to stop stupid actions from people across our very extensive rail network.”
Alarming CCTV footage released of incidents at stations including Burwood, Lumeah, Marrickville and Warwick Farm show people darting across tracks seconds before a train arrives and one man jumping from a moving carriage before lying injured on the platform.
Mr Collins said other footage he had seen, including thrillseekers train surfing and clinging to the back of trains was “heart stopping … even in the 42 years I’ve been in this business”.
“Don’t do it. You will die, and as a result of that your family will be traumatised,” he said.
“But not only that, my staff will have to deal with the impact … often never work again or be traumatised for the rest of their life.”
The figure of 2100 incidents represents a drop of about one third on the number recorded five years ago, but Mr Constance said the more than 10,000 CCTV cameras across the network, and real time data flowing between Sydney Trains and the NSW Police, allowed quick responses to incidents.
“It doesn’t take long to get a police officer to where they are,” he said.
Mr Collins said there “full force of the law” would be used on anyone caught trespassing in the corridors.
He urged those who witnesses dangerous behaviour, which was causing delays on the train network, to alert staff immediately.
“A lot of the people we see on CCTV and who the police apprehend are youngsters. They think it’s a bit of a laugh, particularly on social media,” he said.
“There’s nothing worse than going to those parents and telling them their child has been killed for doing something stupid.
“If they get any idea of this happening, at their home with their kids, let them understand this could be fatal.”
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