Chelmsford students quiz Network Rail’s safety manager in school radio session

Tuesday 10 Oct 2017

Chelmsford students quiz Network Rail’s safety manager in school radio session

Region & Route:: Eastern: Anglia; | Eastern

Students from Moulsham High School in Chelmsford interviewed Network Rail’s safety Manager on the school’s radio station yesterday (Monday 9 October) in a unique educational safety session.

A handful of students took to the airwaves to pose questions to Ryan Ackerman, Network Rail’s community safety manager, for a news piece that will go out to the whole school at lunch and break times throughout the week on the school’s radio station, MHS Radio.

The interview was part of an assembly session for students in years seven, eight and nine that warned them about the dangers of trespassing on the railway and encouraged them to use stations and level crossings safely.

The event was coupled with a short session about careers as part of Rail Week, to inspire students to think about the diverse and rewarding career opportunities available across the rail sector.

The top three questions from the interview are available in this soundbite:

Ryan Ackerman, Network Rail’s community safety manager for Anglia, said: “This was a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the dangers on the railway that many students just don’t realise exist or think don’t apply to them. I was able to talk to them about risks at stations and level crossings and provide some hard-hitting and real life reminders of why it’s so important for students to stay safe.”

Miss Mead, head of school at Moulsham High School, said: “We are extremely grateful to Network Rail for raising our students’ awareness of how to stay safe when near railways. The safety of our students both inside and outside of school is always our main priority and these sessions have been invaluable.”

Parents can also teach their children how to stay safe on the railway with this information: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/safety-education/information-for-parents/

Notes to Editors

Rail week (9 – 15 October)

Rail Week celebrates the diverse and rewarding career opportunities available across the rail sector. For more information go to www.railweek.com

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - Katie Mack
Media relations manager (Anglia route)
0330 8577 132
Katie.Mack@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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