Two people on a moped narrowly escaped what could have been a severe accident after coming to close to a 70mph train at a level crossing.
The CCTV footage, released by Network Rail, showed the "stupidly reckless behaviour" near Littlehampton, West Sussex, police said. As the moped approached the crossing, the red lights were still flashing while the barrier was down.
The rider steered onto the wrong side of the road in order to avoid the first barrier, and passed over the tracks moments ahead of a Southern train. It caused the driver of the train to perform an emergency stop.
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Network Rail route director Lucy McAuliffe said: “We came very close to having two deaths on our railway, and a train driver living with the memories of that.
“We try to make our network as safe as possible but we do need people to work with us by paying attention to red lights and barriers.
“We need to track these people down and make sure they know the consequences of their actions.”
Inspector Emma Boulton of British Transport Police (BTP) said: “This is some of the most stupidly reckless behaviour on a level crossing I have seen in my entire career.
“These riders blatantly ignored the red light in front of them and were just split seconds away from a truly catastrophic collision, which I have no doubt would have had fatal consequences.
“This footage should serve as a very explicit reminder to everyone of the dangers of misusing level crossings.”
Southern’s health, safety and security director Samantha Facey said: “This video beggars belief. Today we could be talking about a double death with all the misery and heartache that would cause the bikers’ families and friends.
“And think of our driver: no-one should have to be put through this trauma and none of our passengers should find themselves put at risk in this way.
“Sadly, we’ve also seen a rise in young people trespassing on the railway. It’s an incredibly dangerous place, so please, please, please keep off the tracks.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 and quoting log 411 of 21/02/23
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