Apparently, it's tough to brake a train that's sliding on bug guts.
When an Australian locomotive screeched to a stop at Western Australia's Clarkson station earlier this month, it crashed into a non-moving counterpart, resulting in six passengers suffering from stiff necks, the Western Australian reports.
Although the official cause of the crash has yet to be released, Reuters has revealed a prime suspect: The Black Portuguese millipede.
"What happened in previous instances is trains which were travelling at speed have gone over an infestation, crushed them and made the tracks slimy," train spokesman David Hynes told Reuters. "The train loses traction and the train has slipped."
The Australian government has released a raft of bulletins and reports on the hitchhiker who landed on the country's shores sometime in the 1950s -- and liked it so much, it decided to stay.
And breed.
Today, Australia's got pestilence.
Characterized not only by their ebony shells, but also the staggering stench that accompanies them, Portuguese millipedes are also frequently smushed en masse by speeding locomotives.
It wouldn't be the first time foreigners have been blamed for a country's woes.
In 2002, millipedes became so entrenched on Australian rails, service had to be suspended between Melbourne and Ballarat, affecting some 50 trains, according to The Age.
And, as WA News reports, a spate of rail service suspensions last year were caused by an infestation of the creepy-crawler.
Also on HuffPost
