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Close Call a Reminder About Railroad Safety
Railroad spokesman says never walk on tracks
By KTVA CBS 11 News
ANCHORAGE - The Alaska Railroad calls this encounter much too close for comfort – when a train packed with tourists made an emergency stop to avoid hitting children on the tracks.
It happened Wednesday just north of bird point on Turnagain Arm. The railroad says at least 30 children from a day camp were walking on the tracks, 20 more were in the right of way, accompanied by more than a dozen adult chaperones.
The train slammed on the brakes and stopped about 500 feet from where they'd been standing.
“You've got a large moving object trying to stop in a very short area in a very short period of time,” said Tim Sullivan of the Alaska Railroad. “It's not something that is easily done it takes a lot of power to do that it doesn’t stop on a dime.”
He added that people often think they can hear a train approaching, but that isn't always true: The best advice is never walk on the tracks.
