A train has ploughed into a van stuck on a level crossing in Poland, with its hapless driver somehow escaping unharmed.

Police footage shows the driver ignoring stop signs and slipping under the entrance barriers onto the tracks on Wednesday morning in the village of Wola Filipowska.

But he comes to a stop in front of the closing barrier on the other side of the tracks, with the Opel van directly in the path of the oncoming train.

Instead of driving around the half-closed barrier, the driver hesitates, allowing the second barrier to fully shut in front of him.

The driver then tried to reverse but quickly changes his mind.

He then gently steers his van onto the embankment by the tracks in a bid to escape the oncoming train.

Moments after he eases to a stop, the train smashes into the back right corner of the van.