A cruel Halloween prank has left a V/Line train driver in distress.
The driver of the 8.22pm Southern Cross to Epsom service reported striking an object hanging from an overhead bridge at Forrest Road, Malmsbury, at about 9.35pm on October 31.
Police and emergency services attended and found the object was a dummy.
The dummy was life-like and in darkness was difficult to distinguish from a real person even with the train’s headlights on it. The VLocity trains move through this section at about 160km/h.
A V/Line spokesperson said rail safety was no laughing matter and V/line was working closely with Victoria Police to find the person responsible for hanging the object.
“Not only did the incident cause distress to our train crew and police, it also caused significant disruption to our passengers and risked damaging the train,” the spokesperson said.
“The train driver was relieved as per normal procedure. Four Bendigo line services were delayed between 37 and 96 minutes and one service was cancelled.
“We strongly encourage anyone with information about this incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”
