Irish Rail has released footage of a near miss incident in which one person avoided being killed 'by a split second'.

It happened in December 2016 at Kilbarrack Station in Dublin.

Video released today shows a man making it to the platform just before a Dublin to Belfast train speeds past at 140km/h.

According to Irish Rail, there were 32 'category 1' near misses last year - referring to incidents when the driver had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting a person.

The company says drivers reported more than 200 trespass incidents during 2016, but management at the company believes that figure is only 'the tip of the iceberg'. 

They are urging people to not take risks on railway lines.

Company spokesperson Barry Kenny explained: "Any of the [category 1] incidents could have involved a tragic, needless death or catastrophic injury.

"It's inexplicable, really, the risk that people put themselves and others under. This isn't just a case of kids and youths, who some may claim wouldn't know better [...] This is adults crossing - this is even a parent carrying a toddler in a stroller across the tracks."

He added: "People's awareness has diminished. Everybody's travelling with headphones, and the old 'clickety-clack' of tracks isn't there anymore. There's smooth rails, the trains themselves are a lot more silent.

"People need to be aware of [...] how much risk they're at on a railway track".