Footbridges, lifts and subways exist for a reason: railway tracks are never a convenient shortcut.

This morning at Mainistir Eimhín railway station, I watched a man cross the railway tracks at the end of the platforms.

There is a footbridge at the station. There are also lifts for passengers who cannot manage the stairs.

That ought to be the end of the matter.

Railway stations are designed with safe ways for passengers to get from one platform to another. Where there is a footbridge, use the footbridge. Where lifts are provided, use them if you need them. Where there is a subway, use the subway. Where there is an authorised pedestrian or level crossing, use it as directed.

Do not simply walk across the railway tracks at the end of the platform.

The fact that the other platform may be only a few metres away does not make the railway line a pedestrian crossing. Nor does being able to see some distance along the track make it safe.

Trains can approach more quickly and more quietly than people expect. There may be movements through a station which are not obvious to a passenger, and a railway is an operational environment in which safety depends upon people using the infrastructure as intended.

This is not peculiar to Ireland. Iarnród Éireann would not regard passengers casually crossing running lines at the end of a platform as acceptable behaviour, and neither would railway operators in the United Kingdom.

There are, of course, stations and railway locations where passengers legitimately cross tracks at an authorised crossing. Those crossings have been provided for that purpose and must be used according to the signs, lights, gates and instructions applying to them.

That is entirely different from deciding for yourself that the end of a platform looks like a convenient shortcut.

At Mainistir Eimhín, passengers have a footbridge. For those who cannot manage the stairs, lifts provide step-free access between the platforms.

Yes, using the proper route takes a little longer than walking directly across the tracks.

That inconvenience is rather the point.

Railway safety is built around keeping people away from moving trains, not finding the shortest possible route between two platforms.

If there is a bridge, use it. If there is a lift, use it. If there is a subway, use it. If there is an authorised crossing, follow its instructions.

The railway tracks themselves are not the shortcut.