This is the heart-stopping moment a speeding passenger train ploughs straight into a farm trailer loaded with giant straw bales – after a 67-year-old driver, who was over the drink-drive limit, stopped right in the middle of the tracks.
Dramatic CCTV footage released by Polish railway authorities captures the near-catastrophe in the village of Czarlin, northern Poland, on Monday afternoon.The tractor, towing two trailers piled high with large round hay bales, approaches the level crossing as the red-and-white barriers begin to lower and warning lights flash. The driver ignores the signals, forces his way onto the rails – even snapping a barrier – then comes to a halt with the heavily loaded trailers still sitting across the line.
Seconds later a PKP Intercity train, travelling from Bielsko-Biała towards Gdynia and carrying around 500 passengers, barrels into view and smashes into the obstacle at speed.
The impact is violent. Bales of straw are hurled into the air like confetti, debris scatters across the crossing, and the front of the locomotive is damaged. Yet, in a stroke of extraordinary luck, the train does not derail.
Polish State Railways (PKP PLK) confirmed that no passengers were injured in the collision. The train’s driver is reported to have received medical attention at the scene for minor injuries, but the hundreds of travellers on board escaped without a scratch – though many were left shaken and had to transfer to other services as the line was disrupted.
Police said the 67-year-old local tractor driver was found to be intoxicated. A breath test recorded 0.27 mg of alcohol per litre of exhaled air – well above Poland’s legal limit. Officers confirmed he drove onto the crossing despite the barriers coming down.
Railway officials were scathing. In a strongly worded statement, they said the driver’s actions had “endangered the health and lives of around 500 people” on the train as well as the crew. They reminded the public that trains always have priority at level crossings and that a train’s braking distance can stretch for up to a kilometre – meaning drivers have almost no chance of stopping in time once a hazard appears.
“One irresponsible driver put the lives of 500 passengers, the train crew and other road users at risk,” the railway company said, adding that the incident also caused significant delays and disruption for hundreds more travellers.
The footage has gone viral, with viewers left stunned at how close the train came to a full-scale disaster. Many remarked on the sheer force of the collision and the way the enormous bales were sent flying.
The tractor driver is expected to face criminal charges for endangering public safety and driving under the influence. Investigations are continuing.
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the deadly risks of ignoring railway crossing signals – especially when alcohol is involved. Once again, a few seconds of reckless behaviour came within a whisker of turning an ordinary Monday afternoon journey into a national tragedy.
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