TASRAIL drivers have endured a week of near misses at level crossings, with one train being forced to stop for a group of high school students who were ``playing chicken''.
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A TasRail driver reported that two high school-aged girls were standing at a suburban level crossing at Glenorchy on Thursday morning while three other girls watched from the side.
The driver brought the train to a controlled stop 15 to 20 metres from the girls, who ran off.
A witness was able to identify the girls' uniforms as belonging to a Hobart school and the incident was reported to the principal.
TasRail chief executive Damien White said the principal immediately contacted TasRail to find out the details of the incident and to arrange for all students to be briefed on rail safety.
``It was an incredibly dangerous act that was committed by those girls, but we are very heartened by the reaction of the school,'' Mr White said.
``A lot of people are unaware of the anxiety and trauma these sorts of stunts cause our drivers.
``We're hoping to get a couple of drivers to go down to the school and spread the rail safety message.''
A TasRail spokeswoman said the organisation was exploring the viability of providing ongoing rail safety education in schools across the state.
Thursday's incident came during a disappointing week for rail safety in Tasmania, with TasRail drivers reporting another two near misses due to ``impatient'' drivers.
On Wednesday morning a silver Commodore pulled out from behind a line of cars waiting at the Granton level crossing before moving to the wrong side of the road, overtaking the queue, and going through the crossing in front of an oncoming train.
The train driver recorded the vehicle registration and passed it on to police.
A similar situation occurred at Railton, in the state's North-West, last Monday night.
Mr White said while there had been a 40 per cent decrease in near misses at crossings during the past 12 months, some people were not getting the message.
``There is always going to be a small group of people who ignore the warnings, no matter how visible the message is,'' he said.
``As our saying goes: `lose a minute, not your life'.''