A plea has gone out to motorists and pedestrians to watch out for cane trains during the cutting season.

Queensland Rail Acting Chief Executive Officer Jim Benstead said too many people across Queensland are gambling with their lives for the sake of saving a couple of minutes.

“We urge people to remain focussed on the roads and exercise additional caution around level crossings, as a train could be passing through the cane fields at any time and from either direction.
 
"Trains can’t swerve to avoid motorists so if there’s a collision, the car, truck or pedestrian will come off second best,” Mr Benstead said.

In the first six months of 2012, there were 213 reported near misses on the Queensland Rail network, 83 of which occurred in regional Queensland.