A film featuring a girl crossing a railway track at Neerwinden, near Landen (Flemish Brabant) when the gates of the level crossing were closed has been doing the rounds on social media. The girl rushed across the tracks in an effort to reach the platform on the opposite side and catch a train that had stopped at Neerwinden station.
Landen
Video: Girl crosses closed level crossing “people don’t realise that they are risking their lives”
Published:
The film is one of many featuring individuals both young and old risking their lives by crossing over railway tracks when level crossing gates are closed. Thomas Baeken of the rail infrastructure management company Infrabel told VRT News that “I have often seen footage like this. Each time I am shocked because people don’t realise that they are endangering their lives”.
"We know from experience that people concentrate on the train that has stopped and forget that other trains could be coming from the other direction. Often fatal incidents occur at clossed level crossings in situations like these."
Thankfully this was not the case here. However, by the same token things could have gone badly wrong.
Mr Baeken told VRT News that Infrabel will continue its campaigns to make the public aware of the dangers posed by crossing over railway tracks at level crossings when the lights are on red or the gates are closed.
17 deaths in 2022
In 2022 17 people in Belgium died in accidents on the railways, 6 of whom as a result of crossing railway tracks at places where it was not permitted. Mr Baeken says that these fatalities could have been prevented if people had abided by the rules.
Those caught crossing railway tracks other than when a level crossing is open face stiff fines if they are caught. These fines can be as high as several hundred euro.