SYDNEY (Reuters) - Black Portuguese millipedes are suspects in a
rear-end collision between two trains in Western Australia on Tuesday
after hundreds of the tiny creatures were found squashed in a slippery
mess on the track.
"Millipedes are one of the factors we are going to take into
account," David Hynes, spokesman at the Public Transport Authority of
Western Australia, told Reuters.
Six passengers were treated for stiff necks after a train pulling
into a station at Clarkson, 40 km (25 miles) north of Perth, ran into a
stationary one, the train company said.
"What happened in previous instances is trains which were travelling
at speed have gone over an infestation, crushed them and made the tracks
slimy. The train loses traction and the train has slipped," Hynes said.
The millipedes are attracted to moist environments and are seen as
invasive pests at high population levels. In 2009, thousands of them
overran 2 km (1.2 miles) of track, causing train delays and
cancellations near Melbourne in southeast Australia.
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