Australian Commuters Work Together To Free Man Trapped Between A Train & The Platform

I can’t move a train. You can’t move a train. We’re not Superman (Superpeople?) but when a whole mess of humans gets together, we’ve got the power to maneuver huge hulking masses of metal to free one of our own. And it was the power of the crowd, not some fictional superhero, that freed an Australian commuter this morning, after his leg became trapped between the train and the platform during rush hour. Cue inspirational music!

Dozens of passengers worked together with train staff at a station in Perth this morning to tilt a car and release a man who’s leg had gotten caught in the gap, reports ABC News.

He had tried to board the train around 8:50 this morning, Perth time, when he slipped.

“He stood in the doorway and as he was sort of taking up his position there, one leg slipped outside the door, slipped outside the gap, and he was stuck,” a Transperth spokesman explained. “We alerted the driver, made sure the train didn’t move.”

Staff then had all the passengers exit the train, and showed them how to rock and tilt the train all together, so it moved away from the man, allowing him to free his leg.

After the big save by his fellow commuters, the man seems to be just fine. Authorities are giving credit to all the strangers who took the time to get out and help, instead of just grumbling about the delay.

“Everyone sort of pitched in,” the spokesman explained. “It was people power that saved someone from possibly quite serious injury.”



Train rescue: Commuters use people power to free man trapped against platform at Perth’s Stirling station
[ABC News]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.