An enormous infestation of millipedes could have caused a crash between two trains in Western Australia.
The crash happened when a train arriving into a station at Clarkson, 25 miles north of Perth, slammed into a stationary one. It resulted in six injured passengers.
Hundred of Black Portuguese millipedes were found squashed in a slippery mess on the track.
In previous instances trains travelling at high speed have gone over an infestation, crushed them and made the tracks slimy. The train loses traction and can slip.
In 2009, thousands of them overran 1.2 miles of track, causing train delays and cancellations near Melbourne in southeast Australia.
The black Portuguese millipede was accidentally introduced into Australia where it has since become an invasive pest. It lacks natural predators in Australia.
Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2412633/Huge-infestation-millipedes-suspected-causing-Australian-train-crash.html
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