Train driver forced to brake to avoid hitting small boy playing on steam railway line

‘No member of the public should walk along a railway line. It is dangerous and a criminal offence’

(Phil Marsh /Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway)

A train had to brake suddenly to avoid hitting a young boy playing on a train line, in the second incident of trespassing on the same line in just a week.

Train driver Phil Marsh shared a picture of the child, who was on the tracks of the Chinnor & Princes Riseborough Railway (C&PRR), a heritage steam railway line.

In the image, the boy is seen crouching down on a wooden foot crossing while a woman stands nearby.

Mr Marsh took the photo to illustrate the danger of trespassing on railway lines, reports the BBC, something which he says is “happening more and more” in the area.

The 200-ton steam train was able to stop in time as it was moving slowly. However, Mr Marsh, who has been a train driver for 46 years, warned that a locomotive of that type travelling at 25mph would usually take 100 metres to stop.

Meanwhile, last Saturday, a Murder Mystery train travelling at 25mph on the C&PRR narrowly avoided a drunk man who was walking home on the track.

A crossing keeper noticed the trespasser and alerted the driver to stop the train, which “certainly saved the man from a certain death”.

Stan Hart, the C&PRR health and safety director, said: “This was a very foolish thing to do.

“While we operate a heritage railway at much lower speed than the mainline, our locomotives can be just as deadly, and they cannot stop as quickly as a car.

“No member of the public should walk along a railway line. It is dangerous and a criminal offence.

“On this occasion, we do not intend taking action against the offender.”

Allan Spence, Network Rail’s head of public and passenger safety, said: “The railway is an extremely dangerous environment if people misuse it. It’s full of both obvious and hidden dangers, which carry risks of catastrophic injuries or even death.

“It is never acceptable to go onto the track – either heritage or mainline – for any reason.”

The C&PRR line celebrated 25 years of operation this summer.