A driver in Cairns came within centimetres of being struck by the iconic Kuranda Scenic Railway tourist train at the Arthur Street level crossing on June 29, with newly released CCTV footage laying bare the terrifying split-second incident in Far North Queensland.
The footage shows a car moving through the crossing as the heritage train bears down, its horn blaring. The vehicle clears the tracks with almost no margin to spare, narrowly avoiding what could have been a catastrophic collision.
What the CCTV Shows at the Arthur Street Crossing
Queensland Rail's head of regional Queensland, Scott Cornish, said the vision left no doubt about the gravity of the situation. "CCTV footage from our Arthur St crossing in Cairns shows where a driver didn't follow the rules, creating an incredibly risky situation where they narrowly missed our KSR train," he said.
Cornish described it as an "incredibly risky situation" and stressed that the consequences of such incidents reach far beyond the individuals directly involved. "These incidents don't just affect the people involved and their families — it impacts our train crew, the people on the train and the first responders attending to the situation," he said.
Not an Isolated Incident — A Pattern of Close Calls in Cairns
The Arthur Street near-miss is far from a one-off. The Kuranda Scenic Railway has been involved in actual collisions at two other Cairns crossings in recent months. A car struck the train at the Grove Street crossing on December 30, 2025, and a second collision occurred at the Upward Street crossing on January 8, 2026.
The cluster of incidents in and around Cairns highlights an ongoing challenge for Queensland Rail in managing motorist behaviour at level crossings on its regional network. Across all of regional Queensland, the rail operator recorded 127 near-misses at level crossings in the last financial year, up from 116 the year before — a troubling upward trend that prompted the current public safety push.
Rail Safety Week Puts Level Crossings in the Spotlight
The footage has been released during Rail Safety Week, running from August 10 to 16, as part of Queensland Rail's Track Safe campaign. The campaign aims to educate motorists, passengers and the broader community about the very real human cost of level crossing incidents — not just for those in vehicles but for train drivers, passengers on board, and emergency services crews called to respond.
"Level crossings are safe when everyone follows the rules, however people are still not following the rules all the time, creating risk for themselves and the people on the trains," Cornish said. His message to all road users was direct: slow down, obey warning signs, and never gamble with a crossing. "Taking a few extra seconds to stop may save a life," he said.
The simple but pointed Rail Safety Week slogan sums up the campaign's core message: "When roads cross rails, follow the signs."
About the Kuranda Scenic Railway
The Kuranda Scenic Railway is one of Tropical North Queensland's most celebrated tourist experiences, winding passengers through ancient rainforest and the dramatic Barron Gorge before arriving at the village of Kuranda. Many visitors combine the heritage train journey with a return trip on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which runs high above the rainforest canopy. The railway's popularity makes safety at its level crossings a matter of particular public concern, with any serious collision having the potential to affect large numbers of visitors and crew alike.
Anyone who regularly uses level crossings is urged to treat every crossing as potentially active, reduce speed on approach, and never attempt to beat an oncoming train. Queensland Rail's message ahead of and beyond Rail Safety Week remains unchanged: the few seconds saved are never worth the risk.
