Woman cheats death when a train misses her by inches as she risked her life trying to walk across tracks in Holland
- The woman passed a barrier and ran across the tracks before stopping
- She quickly darted back and narrowly missed the passing train by inches
- Dutch train operator ProRail released the footage as a warning to others
This is the heart-stopping moment a woman narrowly avoids death after crossing in front of a passing train in the Netherlands.
Footage shows the unidentified woman passing round the barrier and crossing the tracks, before inexplicably stopping at the next barrier in Ermelo.
She then runs alongside the rails a short way, before crossing the line again, dodging the oncoming train – and certain death – by an imperceptibly small margin.
This is the heart-stopping moment a woman narrowly avoids death after crossing in front of a passing train in the Netherlands
Dutch train operator ProRail released the footage as a warning to others.
Spokesman Martijn de Graaf said the train driver would have been powerless to save the woman’s life.
‘A driver can do nothing,’ he said. ‘Imagine the weight of a train – by the time you see someone it’s way too late to do anything.
‘The driver in the front of the train must have been terrified when he saw this happening.’
Footage shows the unidentified woman passing round the barrier and crossing the tracks, before inexplicably stopping at the next barrier in Ermelo
Mr De Graaf added that he had no idea why the woman crossed the lines once, yet alone twice.
‘It’s too bad that we couldn’t have contact with her,’ he said. ‘This is just ridiculous behaviour and it happens quite a lot in the Netherlands – around 160 times a year near stations or railway crossings.’
He also pleaded with the public not to risk it if faced with a similar situation. ‘Don’t do it,’ he said.
‘When the lights flash and the barrier goes down, stay on the right side of the tracks. This lady – she won five seconds but she could have been killed easily.
‘I don’t care where you are in the world, be aware of the fact that this is very dangerous behaviour for you, for the people around you, but also for the driver of the train.’
She then runs alongside the rails a short way, before crossing the line again, dodging the oncoming train – and certain death – by an imperceptibly small margin
One driver, speaking to the Dutch press, estimated that it would have taken the train 500 metres to stop.
Viewers online speculated that the woman feared missing her train, so crossed to the side with the platform, before realising it wasn’t her train and crossing back.
In any case, Mr De Graaf said, the woman had not been identified and so had gone unpunished.
The punishment for ignoring a red light at a level crossing in the Netherlands is a fine of up to €250 (£215).
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