Wilmar urges caution as cane-train accidents surge across North Queensland

Wilmar Sugar has alerted residents to an uptick in accidents and near-misses on its cane-train network across North Queensland, prompting a safety campaign ahead of school holidays. In the last six weeks, a caravan towing vehicle ignored a boom gate near Sarina, narrowly avoiding a collision, while a tractor crossing near Ingham tipped and derailed a train, shutting the line for a day. Footage from the Burdekin region captured children on motorbikes riding along the tracks.

David Zeller, Wilmar’s general manager for cane supply and grower relations, said trains operate around the clock and require up to one kilometre to halt, so drivers must give way to locomotives. Glenn Betteridge, chair of Canegrowers Burdekin, warned that repeated closures could disrupt cane bin deliveries and impact growers’ schedules. The company is urging the public, particularly families, to stay off railway lines and respect all crossing signs.