MOTORISTS and cyclists have been caught on camera dicing with death with cane trains in the Hinchinbrook region.
Wilmar Sugar, which operates Queensland's third-largest rail network with more than 1600km of cane railway through the Herbert, Burdekin, Proserpine and Plane Creek, this week released footage of some terrifying near misses this season.
As the crush enters its third month, Wilmar has urged the public to obey rules around rail networks, with the crush set to continue until December.
Wilmar cane supply and grower relations general manager Paul Giordani said recent footage of near-misses around Wilmar's extensive cane rail network indicated some road users were not heeding the safety message.
"A minority of motorists are still speeding up through level crossings to beat our cane trains, putting our loco crews, other motorists and themselves in danger," Mr Giordani said.
"We've also had instances of cyclists crossing the track in front of an on-coming train.
"It's very concerning. It can take more than a kilometre for a fully loaded cane train to come to a complete stop, so it's important that motorists, cyclist and pedestrians give way to our trains."
Mr Giordani said cane trains had been operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, since the season started in June and would be operating until December.
"There are almost 500 rail crossings on public roads across our four regions and it is vital that motorists and pedestrians take care at every single one of them.
"Some of our cane trains are 200 bins long and have more than 1500 tonnes of rolling weight, but unfortunately, some people still underestimate the force behind them."
