Wednesday 4 Aug 2004
“CHILDREN MUST STOP RISKING THEIR LIVES PLAYING ON THE RAILWAY”, WARNS NETWORK RAIL
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Southern
The school summer holidays are underway and once again crime on the railway has increased – most of it committed by children and young people.
Margaret Barker, Network Rail’s Route Crime Risk Manager, said: “With long days and light evenings, it’s easy to understand why children want to play outside – but it’s hard to understand why some risk their lives playing on dangerous railway tracks.
“As well as the risk of being hit by a train, there is the risk of electrocution from live rails or overhead lines. Previous tragedies have shown that children and young people do not survive these massive electric shocks.
“We implore parents and guardians to make sure their children understand the dangers of playing on the tracks. We don’t want any child to die as a result of playing on the railway this summer.”
Everyday the British Transport Police record hundreds of crimes on Britain’s railways, which cost more than £250m a year in criminal damage and delays to passengers.
Network Rail takes its responsibility as railway infrastructure owner very seriously and sponsors many events to highlight railway safety.
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Summer – 2
In the southern region this year Network Rail has been involved in: Hampshire Games; Charlton Athletic Football in the Community Scheme; I Dare You plays in Sutton, Eastleigh and Sandgate. Railwatch has been launched in hotspot areas such as Lewisham, Ashtead and Redbridge and Network Rail has also sponsored three British Transport Police motorcyclists who are dedicated to combating trespass and vandalism in the south.
Over the summer, the dangers of railway crime will be highlighted by:
· Beach Soccer - 2 August for 4 weeks. 5.30 – 7.30 every night. 1st and 3rd week is in Margate, 2nd and 4th week in Ramsgate.
· Bexley Council’s Welling fun day – 17th August. British Transport Police and Network Rail information stand.
· A railway safety set is on permanent display at Bournemouth Streetwise Safety centre (
www.streetwise.org.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.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk
