Pushing one child along in a pram, while a toddler walked along behind her, the mother was seen cutting across the live tracks just metres from where trains pass at a busy junction.
The British Transport Police, who are searching for the woman, released the shocking images yesterday in a bid to alert people to the dangers of trespassing on the railways.
VIDEO: SHOCKING CCTV FOOTAGE CAPTURES MOMENT A MOTHER PUSHED HER PRAM ONTO THE RAILWAY TRACKS DURING AN ARGUMENT
They said: "We don’t know what this woman was doing, but the only reason we can think that she would take two small children across a railway is because she was following a shortcut.
"People don’t realise walking along a train track is just as dangerous as walking down the middle of a motorway."
The incident came after police warned as many as 14 children and young adults a day are risking their lives - and the lives of train passengers - by trespassing on the rails.
The British Transport Police have since launched Operation Intruder, in a bid to warn of the dangers of trespassing on rail lines.
WATCH: HEROIC WOMAN DRAGS MAN FROM RAILWAY TRACK MOMENTS BEFORE TRAIN PASSES
There were almost 2,400 recorded incidents between April and June, one of which saw a 16-year-old boy suffering serious burns after coming into contact with overhead power lines.
And, in Derbyshire, a train hit a concrete block which was placed on the tracks by a group of children.
Chief Inspector Tom Naughton said: "We need parents to play their part, too – making children aware of how dangerous a place the railway can be."