Media centre

Thursday 15 Jul 2010

427 RAIL CRIMES COMMITTED BY YOUNG PEOPLE IN SCOTLAND

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Young people are putting their lives at risk every day by trespassing on the railway, new figures released today by Network Rail reveal.

There were 427 recorded incidents of trespass or vandalism* involving young people in the last year in Scotland with incidents including youngsters taking short cuts, spraying graffiti, playing chicken with trains or placing objects on the tracks.

Across Great Britain, more than 3,400 incidents involving young people were recorded and the true figure is likely to be much higher with many incidents going unreported.

The most shocking Scottish examples include:

• Teenagers using an air rifle to shoot at railway engineers near Airdrie
• Youths staging a gang fight on the track at Burnside
• Teenagers setting fire to the lineside in Coatbridge
• Teenagers trespassing on the roof at Edinburgh Waverley
• Children walking across Dee Viaduct in Aberdeen

A wide range of items have also been dumped on the tracks, including:

• bikes
• shopping trolleys
• traffic cones
• prams
• dustbins
• a trampoline
• televisions
• a bouncy castle

GB-wide, 49 people died after trespassing on the tracks in the last year; with a quarter of trespass fatalities being young people aged 11-20.

While adults commit more crimes, young people take more risks and their actions are more dangerous – such as playing chicken and graffiti spraying in hard to reach locations.

With the summer holidays underway, Network Rail is encouraging young people to take up more positive activities and not put themselves at risk of serious injury or worse, by taking unnecessary risks on the tracks.

The company’s No Messin’ campaign, which works with local community groups and clubs across Britain, is fronted by world boxing champion Amir Khan.

He spoke of his continued support for the No Messin’. "Young people need to know that playing chicken or throwing stones at trains won’t get you respect or win you real friends,” he said. “Working with Network Rail in community clubs I’ve seen how young people can get a real kick out of learning something new like boxing or other sports and how positive encouragement can steer them off the tracks and onto a better path."

While today’s figures are alarming, the No Messin’ campaign, now in it’s fifth year, is seeing some success with a 32% reduction in reported crimes by young people.*

Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s director of operations, said: "It’s good to see the number of incidents involving young people coming down, but far too many continue to risk their lives by taking a misguided short cut or worse, deliberately messing around on the tracks. Unlike cars, trains cannot swerve and can take the length of 20 football pitches to stop. Contact with electricity power lines and tracks can result in horrific injuries, burns or even death. We want to prevent such incidents and help young people find more rewarding and exciting ways to spend their free time."

British Transport Police Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther added: "BTP officers continue to work closely with Network Rail and train operating companies across the country to educate young people about the dangers of going near the railway line.

"Our message is simple: the railway is not a playground – stay safe and stay out of trouble. Every year we see people risking their lives either by careless actions, such as taking a shortcut across the tracks or by playing on or near the line. Anyone who messes around near the tracks is not only risking a court appearance, they are putting their lives at risk."