A girl screams and brakes squeal as a young man pulls himself onto the platform, risking his life playing chicken with a moving train.
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The Illawarra Mercury has been provided footage of an incredible near miss at Corrimal Station on Friday night.
The 42-second clip begins with one man running across the tracks with the sound of boom gates and the approaching train in the distance.
A group of young people is shown standing on the south-bound platform, some clearly eager to make it to the other side before the north-bound train arrives.
Then, just when it appears no one would stand a chance of making it across, a young man leaps into the darkness, sprinting across the tracks and clambering up the other side.
The train driver immediately slams on his brakes - an act of quick thinking which probably saved the young man from serious injury or death.
Hayley Jones was waiting at the platform when she witnessed the incident.
She said seeing the young men risk their lives made her hesitant about catching the train again.
‘‘My heart was pounding, it was so scary,’’ Ms Jones said.
‘‘There were three or four that jumped off the platform and one guy at the last second jumped the line.
‘‘Then the driver of the train came out and had a big talk with them.’’
She said the station was crowded at the time of the incident and said more needed to be done to educate people about the dangers of jumping across the tracks.
The footage comes a month after the Mercury reported the story of train driver Robert Zelvis, who has been involved in multiple fatalities and countless near misses during his career.
According to the Independent Transport Safety Regulator, NSW trains were involved in 325 fatalities over the past decade, of which 276 were due to trespass and 248 involved a train strike.
In June this year, the Mercury was provided with similar footage showing a brazen cabbie crossing railway lines while flashing lights and boom gates were in action.
He was later reprimanded by his employer after satellite technology was used to identify the vehicle.
Transport Sydney Trains encourages anyone who witnesses people trespassing on railway tracks to report it immediately to police by calling 000.
If the incident occurred some time ago, people are encouraged to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.
The maximum fine for an individual trespassing on the tracks is $5500.
Note: A number of readers have submitted comments suggesting it would have been better if the train had hit the young man. We will not publish such comments. We ask readers to spare a thought for the train driver and others whose lives would be impacted by that.
