Person charged after school photo taken on tracks as train pulls in

One person has been charged after videos surfaced online of multiple people standing on Kitchener GO train tracks to take photos of a student group on Thursday. 

The person who tweeted the videos, @CarlyAlmighty, wrote, "I seriously thought they were going to get plowed down by a train."

A photo that appears to be taken from the tracks later appeared on the St. Johns Catholic Elementary School Twitter feed, with a caption indicating students were taking the train to Toronto to visit the aquarium and go to a Blue Jays game after completing good deeds.

That tweet, pictured below, has since been removed from the school's feed.

Anne Marie Aikins, senior manager of media for Metrolinx, tweeted at the group and warned they were taking an unnecessary risk.

"You cannot beat a train," she said.

One person has been charged with crossing rail tracks. That carries a maximum fine of up to $5,000. 

More charges and fines could follow as a number of people were seen on the tracks. 

A formal investigation has been launched and transit safety officers are working to identify the people involved, according to Matt Llewellyn, a spokesperson for Metrolinx.

He said a customer notified them just after 7 a.m. that someone appeared to be taking pictures while standing on the tracks.

He said the rail safety team was made aware of it as a GO train was making its way to the station.

He said there are two possible charges: crossing rail tracks, which carries a maximum fine of $5,000, as well as trespassing, which has a maximum fine of $2,000.

"Track beds are extremely dangerous and what we saw there today and what we saw this morning was not only incredible disturbing, but it was incredibly dangerous and stupid," Llewellyn said. "We take this type of incident very seriously."

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo has reached out to the school board for comment.