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Belfast Telegraph - Trespassers in Tunnel video

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thenorthern

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Just seen this in the Belfast Telegraph.

Watch: Terrifying moment children flee train in tunnel after trespassing on railway line in Northern Ireland
  • Not even Usain Bolt could outrun a train, warns Translink after 304 incidents since April

This is the terrifying moment children dice with death with a train after trespassing on the railway tracks.

The footage has been released by Translink Northern Ireland Railways to warn people of the dangers of going anywhere near their trains or the tracks.

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In the footage the train is seen approaching the tunnel at Downhill in Co Londonderry, with a child attempting to wave it down.

The train then enters the tunnel only for two young people to be seen fleeing for their lives, before desperately clinging to the wall for safety.

In recent months pedestrians have taken serious risks on the rail network with more than one incident a day between April and the end of August.

The railway operator has revealed areas such as Whiteabbey, Finaghy, Dunmurry and Antrim are among the most common for its trespassers.

Those recent incidents include a near miss involving a child near Jordanstown, youths playing chicken on the tracks at Meetinghouse Lane, Dunmurry and other young people using the tracks as a shortcut at Bleach Green.

Mark Atkinson, head of civil engineering at Translink said: “There are obviously serious risks associated with trespassing on the rail network-life changing injuries or even death.

"Our trains travel at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour and if a driver has to apply the emergency brakes, it will take two thirds of a mile for the train to stop. In other words, not even the fastest athlete on the planet could outrun a train.

"During holiday periods, incidents of pedestrian trespass on the rail network unfortunately often increase. The network can look like a handy shortcut or a good place to play, but the risks are just not worth it.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...ailway-line-in-northern-ireland-35064015.html

The people I feel sorry for in this instance is the drivers as unlike in a car you can't swerve and that feeling for a few seconds that you are going to hit someone because of a machine you are using and there is nothing you can do.
 
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AlterEgo

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That was close. I wonder if the chap waving down the train at the tunnel mouth was part of the same group or a concerned bystander.
 

thenorthern

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That was close. I wonder if the chap waving down the train at the tunnel mouth was part of the same group or a concerned bystander.

Part of the group I reckon but I don't know.

Its quite sad really because what a lot of staff say is this time of the year is notorious for trespassing because of the summer holidays.
 

WelshBluebird

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That was close. I wonder if the chap waving down the train at the tunnel mouth was part of the same group or a concerned bystander.

The BBC report states the person was a beach lifeguard. Not sure of the accuracy of that though.
 

thenorthern

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I stand corrected on my previous comment it was a lifeguard trying to warn the driver about entering the tunnel.
 

thenorthern

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A couple of years ago Network Rail had a campaign featuring Dai Greene warning about trespassing that I thought worked quite well and was advertised on YouTube but I haven't seen it for a while.
 
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