Media centre

Monday 25 Jan 2016

Network Rail delivers rail safety lesson to Cardiff school kids

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Cardiff school children have learned about the dangers of the railway as Network Rail presses ahead with the electrification of the South Wales Mainline – a critical part of its Railway Upgrade Plan to provide better, more reliable journeys for passengers across Britain.

Stephen Doughty MP joined the event to see Network Rail deliver key rail safety messages – including the potential dangers of an electrified railway – to Year 6 pupils from Mount Stuart primary school and Bryn Deri primary school.

The event, held in Boulders indoor climbing centre in Cardiff, was organised as part of the RESOLVEit Crucial Crew safety initiative and all primary schools in Cardiff were invited to attend.

Tracey Young, community safety manager for Network Rail Wales, said: “Britain has the safest railway in Europe but still too many people lose their lives on the tracks.

“As the railway gets busier and we electrify the South Wales Mainline to improve services, we must work harder to keep young people safe by making them aware of the dangers that exist. Taking a short cut or messing around on the tracks can result in serious life-changing injuries or death.

“We’re working closely with the RESOLVEit Crucial Crew team to drive home the important safety messages which are designed to keep young people safe.”

Stephen Doughty, MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, said: “It was great to see the work Network Rail is doing with schools to help make young people aware of the dangers of playing on the railway.

“With electrification coming to Wales, it is really important to speak to children in an engaging way so they can really take on-board the safety messages.”

Over the past year, there have been 83 trespass incidents in Cardiff County, which is the second highest amount in the whole of Wales. By engaging with young people through the RESOLVEit Crucial Crew sessions, Network Rail hopes to see a significant shift in attitudes to railway safety.

Notes to Editors:

RESOLVEit Crucial Crew delivers life-saving safety and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) workshops to 10-12 year olds across Wales.

There’s more information available on Crucial Crews and the work they do with about 20,000 students on an annual basis here.

Further details on safety education can be found on the Network Rail website: www.networkrail.co.uk/safetyeducation and www.rail-life.co.uk

• Over the past 10 years, more than 360 people have lost their lives while trespassing on the railway.
• 94 fatalities of young people aged 20 or under in past ten years.
• There were a further 68 fatalities of those aged 20-25 in the past ten years.
• Being struck by trains has accounted for 72% of all trespasser fatalities over the last 10 years. Electrocution has accounted for a further 17%, with falls from height accounting for 7% and people deliberately exiting trains during running, or falling from them while train-surfing, accounting for the remaining 4%.
• There were 22 fatalities to trespassers during 2014/15, the same figure as for 2013/14 and lowest in this reporting period. There were 869 trespass injuries in the same period.
• But 27% of fatalities in 2014/15 were by electric shock almost double the % in the previous year (14%).
• People commit trespass for a variety of reasons. For some, it may be convenience – taking a shortcut along the tracks, or walking the dog. For others, it may be a spur of the moment decision – for example if something has been mistakenly dropped from the platform edge. In other cases, such as playing ‘chicken’, there may be a thrill-seeking element to the behaviour.