People seen risking their lives on train tracks in Sussex

Pedestrians were seen walking across train tracks near Roundstone Level Crossing in East Preston - West Sussex - at around 11:30am this morning, according to witnesses travelling on the 700 bus from Brighton to Wick.

Copyright: Dwayne Hards.

The pedestrians crossing the tracks did so just before a huge cargo train belted down the railroad. If the pedestrians had of been crossing just a few seconds earlier, the train may have run them over and killed them.

The lights at the Ferring Street level crossing nearest to where the incident occurred, about a 5 minute walk down the tracks, were red when the pedestrians cut across the railroad, according to witnesses. This made the act even more dangerous.

It is already a criminal offence to trespass on the railway in the UK, punishable with a £1,000 fine. Concerns have been raised for years about the issue, calling for stricter sanctions against those who illegally and recklessly trespass on the railway. However, in this case, the pedestrians were not technically trespassing as there was a public footpath which they was using, but most people wouldn't cross there out of common sense. Calls have been made for the dangerous footpath to be closed off amid the danger it poses to citizens' lives.

253 suicide related deaths were recorded on the railway in the UK during years 2020 and 2021, according to Statista.

If you feel the urge to show off or cut across the train tracks, please think twice before doing so as you are risking your life and the train driver's lifelong mental health. In other words, just don't do it because it's not worth the risks.

If someone gets struck by a train, it's not just them and their family which will be affected, the train driver will most likely suffer from lifelong mental health issues, including PTSD, after watching the person (or people) get run down.

Network Rail, a national railway company in the UK, have spread public awareness regarding the issue and the dangers posed by trespassing on the train tracks; however, some people either don't seem to get the message or they believe it won't happen to them despite the shocking number of citizens' lives taken amid their dangerous, risky, and deadly choice.