Millipedes may have caused a train to run into the back of a stationary train in Perth after hundreds of them were found squashed in a slippery mess on the track.

Several passengers were slightly hurt at the suburban station.

“Millipedes are one of the factors we will take into account,” the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia said.

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“What happened in previous instances is trains that were travelling at speed have gone over an infestation, crushed them and made the tracks slimy. The train loses traction and the train has slipped,” it said.

AP