Terrifying CCTV footage shows girl almost get hit by train on level crossing

Heart-stopping video shows two people sprinting across a train track in Kent along with cyclists crashing on the tracks and people walking their dogs across the line - seconds before a zooming train goes past. CCTV footage also showed people hanging from rising crossing barriers and a car swerving to avoid closing barriers.

Network Rail has released the footage to remind parents and children to remain vigilant around the railway - as incidents of level crossing misuse rise during the summer holidays. According to the Network Rail, latest figures show there were 258 incidents of misuse and 33 near misses at level crossings across Network Rail’s Kent route alone in the last financial year (2023/24).

Though more widely, across Network Rail’s Southern region which serves rail passengers and freight operators from Devon in the West to Kent in the East right across the South of England, longer term trends (since 2017) show the number of near misses has increased by 31%. There have been 117 near miss incidents involving pedestrians on level crossings so far this year.

Sam Pead, Network Rail’s Southern region level crossing manager, said: “It’s important to remember that some of the dangers on the railway aren’t always visible. Across the Southern region trains can travel as fast as 140mph and are largely powered by the third rail which carries more than enough electricity to kill or seriously injure and is always on. It’s frustrating we continue to see people recklessly risking their lives when crossing the railway."