A STUDENT nurse has saved the life of a man who fell on to the tracks at a Brisbane train station just minutes before a train was due to arrive.

In chilling footage captured by Queensland Rail on Thursday, the 56-year-old man is shown in a disoriented state wandering near the edge of the platform at Wooloowin Station before stepping off.

He fell more than a metre and lay motionless before the student nurse jumped down to help him.

Queensland Rail customer service officer Jill Lyten was also on the platform waiting for the train, and saw what happened.

She said her own training kicked in and she immediately called station control to stop the approaching train.

"I knew it was coming and we had to stop it," Ms Lyten said.

"I had my phone in my hand and made the call straight away."

If the train was not stopped, it is possible the man and the student nurse may have been struck.

The man was taken to hospital with abrasions.

Ms Lyten said the student nurse was remarkably "in control".

Queensland Rail acting CEO Jim Benstead said by releasing the CCTV footage of the incident, they hoped to promote use of the emergency help button on all platforms.

"We do have to acknowledge the lady who has been very brave in jumping down and helping this gentleman," Mr Benstead said.

"The right thing to do would be to contact staff at the station or through the emergency help phone use that particular service."

He said Ms Lyten's phone call ensured power to the overhead lines was disengaged, disabling the train.

"The train was about a kilometre away from where the incident occurred," he said.

Originally published as Nurse jumps onto tracks to save man