Pedestrians are dicing with death, running across the tracks right in the path of fast-moving trains.
Exclusive footage showing the impatient South Australians putting their lives at risk has sparked an urgent warning from authorities for commuters to play it safe.
Some people come within just inches of their life when crossing Adelaide train tracks, the heart-stopping videos show.
The close calls sparked grave concerns from the transport department, which says the dangerous behaviour is on the rise.
In one video as a train barrels down the tracks, a man opens the closed barrier gate.
After a brief moment of indecision, he makes a dangerous dash right in front of the 140-tonne train.
Scott White, executive director SA Public Transport Authority called the footage “very disturbing”.
“In some of those videos, people come within inches of losing their life, and that’s a very traumatic experience for everyone involved,” he said.
In Christie Downs in Adelaide’s south, there was another frightening near miss when a runner made a last-minute sprint moments before a train speeds through.
“Recently what we’re seeing is a 40 per cent increase across the whole of our network,” White said.
Each year, South Australia records six collisions and 110 near misses between trains and pedestrians, as well as vehicles.
The fresh warning comes less than a week after a 64-year-old cyclist tragically lost his life after being hit by a train at the North Adelaide railway station.
White said for staff, being called out when somebody had been hit by a train was, “something that’s going to stick with you forever”.
Tomorrow marks the beginning of rail safety week, with authorities pleading with people to take care along the tracks and warning inattention can prove fatal.
