By Gabriella Payne
The lockdown bubble has forced people to get creative on their walks and discover new trails and paths around their local areas – but it seems some hills residents have been taking this up a notch and tempting fate in the process.
The iconic Puffing Billy railway corridor may seem like a quiet and idyllic place to explore, but recently, more and more locals have been using this time in lockdown to walk along the tracks – a very dangerous activity that the Puffing Billy team are urging people not to do.
Posting to their public Facebook page, the team behind the local landmark said that they were alarmed to hear that the tracks were being used by pedestrians recently.
“It has recently come to our attention that there are community members currently using the railway corridor as a pedestrian walking track,” the statement read.
“This is an incredibly dangerous activity – tracks are slippery, uneven and operating trains do move back and forth along the line.”
The organisation said that while the train service was currently closed due to the lockdown, it did not mean that the tracks were sitting there unused.
“While we are temporarily closed to the public, there are still a number of maintenance and bushfire mitigation works being carried out during this time to ensure the safe restart and reopening of the railway,” they said.
“Always expect a train.
“They can come at any time of day from either direction and although our trains might seem small compared to most, they can still weigh the equivalent of 50 – 100 Ford Territory’s.
“To bring a train of that size to a halt requires a stopping distance much longer than the average car!”
The Puffing Billy team urged residents to stay away from the tracks in the interest of public safety.
“For everyone’s safety, please refrain from walking along or beside the train track and if you witness anyone trespassing, please report this immediately to the police by calling 000.”
The team added that they hoped to be back up and operating again soon (pending lockdown restrictions easing).
