Shocking near-miss on train tracks highlights driver trauma

Security vision of a drunken man who fell off a Sydney train platform and had to be pulled from the path of a moving train has highlighted the need for commuters to take more care.

The man can be seen stumbling from side to side at Berala train station, in the city’s west, when he took one step too many and tumbled off the side of the platform and onto the tracks.

CCTV footage recorded from within the oncoming train’s front cabin shows that the incident occurred around a blind corner and the driver was oblivious until the final moment.

In the seconds before the train would have struck the man, another passenger dragged him along the ground and up onto the platform.

Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins, a former driver, told 9NEWS that incidents like those “stop the hearts” of train operators who are unable to avoid a collision.

“You might say a few expletives under your breath, you’re waiting for that impact,” he said.

“There’s nothing you can do about it, you can’t steer away like a car – you’re doing all you can.”

The driver in the incident did activate the vehicle’s emergency brakes when the man came into vision however, at full speed, a train takes about a kilometre to come to a complete stop.

In the near-miss at Berala, the train was luckily slowing as it pulled into the station, which made it easier to stop.

“The poor driver. To see what they have to go through, as some drunk falls onto the tracks – it’s just horrific in every sense,” NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance told 9NEWS.

The footage has been enough for both NSW Transport and Sydney Trains to issue a simple message to its customers – think of drivers and stay off the tracks.