Sydney light rail: Alarming near-miss incidents caught on camera
Heartstopping footage has captured the moment a man was almost struck by a tram in Sydney.
The vision shows a tram rumbling along at night, as two people break out into a run to get across the tracks.
As the tram is just metres away, another person - seemingly absent-mindedly - almost follows their lead before a bystander yanks him back by his backpack, stopping him from being hit by a matter of seconds.
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The hair-raising miss was just one of a number of clips reelased by the NSW government as part of the annual Rail Safety Week awareness campaign.
The CCTV footage was captured on-board light rail vehicles in Sydney, the city’s eastern suburbs, Parramatta and Newcastle.
According to government figures, there have been more vehicle near-misses on the new Parramatta system in the past 12 months than other lines as Western Sydney adjusts to the new format.
“These moments are hard to watch because in some cases there are just centimetres or milliseconds from the result being so much worse,” Transport Minister John Graham said.
“Light rail vehicles can’t deviate their path and at 85 tonnes when fully loaded, they take time to stop.
“Please stay alert and follow the rules to ensure your own safety and the people you are with.
“Whether you’re a pedestrian, a cyclist, or a driver, it is so important to take responsibility for your own safety.”
The footage shows cars darting in front of moving trams, motorbikes and scooters cutting across the tracks when it is not safe, and pedestrians almost being run over. The trams drivers slam on their own brakes in the most dangerous of the clips.
The chaos isn’t confined to the Sydney area. A compilation of clips from the Newcastle area shows even wilder near-misses, and a few crashes too.
The Newcastle videos show people driving their cars on the tracks, a cyclist’s front tyre becoming stuck in the track and flipping onto the concrete, and a 4WD ute being struck and spun out by a tram which the driver cut off.
The 20th annual Rail Safety Week begins on Monday.
Originally published as Sydney light rail: Alarming near-miss incidents caught on camera
