Maybe you could catch the XPT North Coast Ice Addict Express!!!
WITH nowhere to escape and no security back-up, railway workers de-escalated an impending knife fight on a North Coast XPT train which terminated at Casino at 6.40pm on Wednesday night.
But unfortunately, it's all in a day's work for rail workers, with violent drug-related incidents escalating in severity in recent years, said Bob Hayden, Secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW.
For our region's train hub, Casino, also dubbed the "ice hub of the Northern Rivers" by Richmond Local Area Command Crime Manager Detective Inspector Cameron Lindsay, it's the perfect storm.
The union's Mr Hayden said he feared for local train workers.
"Being in an enclosed space, without any real protection, and a violent person is a situation no one wants to be in, but unfortunately our workers find themselves in that situation quite regularly," he said.
"Drugs such as ice are a real worry for transport workers. Not knowing what a violent person is capable of is very scary, particularly when you're trapped in an enclosed space together."
A recent survey of transport workers showed that 44% of all workers have been assaulted while at work. That rises to 80% for guards.
A childcare worker from nearby Rainbow Station Early Education Centre said while no anti-social behaviour had spilled over into the centre, staff do take precautions and conduct daily needle sweeps.
"There is no doubt that the ice problem in Casino is affecting local families," she said.
