History Main / RailroadTracksofDoom

Any time you see railroad tracks on television, a train will appear, usually while central characters are walking across it or, even better, when for some reason or another they're stuck on the tracks. They're nearly going to get killed because they get stuck on the tracks. The train is always running on time when it would kill you, it seems. Of course, they key word back there is "nearly"- while this kind of thing would seem to be a high risk endeavor, usually, one way or another, they manage to get off the tracks in time.

* ''{{Silent Hill 3}}'' has a subway car that will ONLY roar in the moment you step on the tracks, resulting in your gruesome death if you don't immediately scramble back onto the platform. Made even nastier by a ghost haunting the area, with a habit of pushing people onto said tracks...

* The second AlexRider book, ''Point Blanc'', has an incident where the annoying Fiona falls off a horse and breaks her ankle in the middle of a mile-long train tunnel. Alex and her make it out of the tunnel (on Alex's horse), and manage to jump off the tracks seconds before they are hit by a train.

* In an episode of {{CSI}} the team solves a case involving a woman whose car was forced onto the track and run over.

* The multiplayer map Terminal from {{Halo}} 2 has a pair of trains that travel at high speeds and will kill you if you are in their path. You will die even if driving a vehicle of any kind, including the tank
* MirrorsEdge has a level that takes place (partially) in a subway and another that starts near some train tracks. Both levels require you to run down these tracks, and one actually requires you to jump on top of a train. The train is [[CaptainObvious lethal if it hits you]], but if you time it right, you can actually get clear of the trains without one coming along.
* Old Midway arcade game 'APB' had one of these. You ALWAYS had to stop at the train tracks (unless you were fond of getting hit by the train that's always coming by).

* However, if for some reason your car is stopped on a railroad track and a train is coming, it is at this point that one should remember that cars come standard with inventions known as "doors."

* In ''FinalDestination'', Carter deliberately stops on the trains tracks in an attempt to prove that he "controls his own destiny". Having made his point he discovers that his car won't start and his seatbelt is jammed as the train bears down on him.

* FriedGreenTomatoes - Ruth's love interest sure picked the wrong moment to show off trying to use the railroad tracks as an impromptu balance-beam: [[spoiler: he gets stuck and is fatally run over by a train]]. Ruth's son also [[spoiler: loses a leg]] this way.

* That StephenKing novella ''The Body'', later adapted into the film ''StandByMe'', has the kids discover that part of the way to get to their destination via rail bridge over a river gorge. The wimpy one lampshades this trope heavily, but in the end they decide to cross it anyway. Guess what happens. TheMovie version plays the scene faithfully.

* That StephenKing novella ''The Body'', later adapted into the film ''StandByMe'', has the kids discover that part of the way to get to their destination is by a rail bridge. The wimpy one lampshades this trope heavily, but in the end they decide to cross it anyway. Guess what happens. TheMovie version plays the scene faithfully.

* The Aldwych subway in ''TombRaider III''.

* This Troper remembers are rather nasty RoaldDahl story in which a geeky boy named Peter is tied down to railroad tracks by the local bullies to be run over with the train. At least they're nice enough to remind him to try to flatten himself when the train comes. [[spoiler:He keeps this advice in mind survives.]]

* Subverted in the movie ''OctoberSky'': The boys rip up the tracks of a supposedly-abandoned spur line to sell the iron for scrap. One of the boys lampshades this trope, asking if the the tracks really are unused. Sure enough, the moment they've got the heavy rail fully out of alignment, they hear a whistle... Frantically, they try to get the rail back in place, seemingly to no avail as the locomotive bears down on them... Then at the last moment, the train turns away down the main line; and the camera pulls back to reveal that the line they tore up ''was'' inactive.

* ''MarioKart64'' featured a desert track with a train which would spin you out of control if you tried to cross the tracks at the wrong time. However, if you timed it correctly and very carefully, you could also drive on the tracks through the tunnel in a valuable shortcut.

* ''MarioKart64'' featured a desert track with a train which would spin you out of control if you tried to cross the tracks at the wrong time. However, if you timed it correctly and very carefully, you could also drive on the tracks through the tunnel in a valuable shortcut.

* Sadly, this trope is TruthInTelevision, particularly at locations where highways and railroads meet at grade or at busy passenger stations. For some reason, an alarming number of people don't seem to realize a train came come at any time, or that on a double track railroad, another train can come as soon as the first one clears. [[http://www.chicagotribune.com/videobeta/cad7d537-6449-480f-804d-eff6ff60c19d/News/Metra-surveillance-video-from-3-13-2010-accident this video shows the tragic results]] of such a mistake.

See ChainedToARailway for when this is done deliberately as opposed to being the result of wrong place, wrong time.

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