Everyone’s worst nightmare is falling onto tracks while there’s an oncoming train. We’ve all seen footage of the just-in-time rescues and they make us all sick to the stomach with fear and then a cautious relief.
Earlier in September, a Sydney man became yet another victim to the sickening horror of stumbling onto the tracks.
The man, dressed in blue, fainted unexpectedly and lurched onto tracks at Wynyard Station.
Other passengers watched on in horror while staff frantically tried to warn approaching train drivers.
Six men, staff and passengers alike, quickly rushed to his aid while a staff member in an orange vest was able to get the train driver’s attention to stop him.
Luckily, the train pulled up short of the platform.
If not for the customer service officer who raised his hands to warn the driver, the six men who jumped down to help the injured man could have had a very different ending, Sydney Trains told 7 News.
Miraculously, the man merely suffered a cut to his head and minor bruising to his shoulder.
The man is far from the first to be involved in a harrowing near-miss with a train – this Melbourne mother watched on as her baby’s pram was blown onto the tracks seconds before a train steamrolled over it. Somehow, it survived with just a cut to the forehead.
Earlier this year, the NSW government released a compilation of terrifying footage featuring 5000 “safety related” incidents on the state transport network last year.
“What we’re doing today is releasing CCTV footage that will horrify the community. It just demonstrates how quickly things can go wrong,” Transport Minister Andrew Constance said.
“If you have young children please hold their hands in and around transport networks … don’t spend all your time on your mobile phone – be conscious of what’s around you.”
