Warnings about trains

People working for the railways want to make sure we understand how trains are dangerous. The young man walking his dog who got killed this week seems to have thought he could quickly get across after the barrier came down, and he was wrong.

The experts here emphasize that a train can’t stop like a regular motor vehicle. It takes time for a train’s brakes to work against its massive momentum.

Also touched on here is that people may think trains are slow, an idea probably based on seeing freight trains lumbering through town. The death this week was caused by a lighter, faster commuter train, but even a freight train can pick up speed on some stretches, and no train is to be taken lightly.