Media centre

Friday 22 Oct 2021

EK youngsters on-the-ball for rail safety message

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail and the Scottish Football Association will be delivering a series of football camps in East Kilbride to help young people stay safe around the railway.

The camps, which will mix professional coaching from the SFA with rail safety messaging from Network Rail and British Transport Police, form part of the East Kilbride Enhancements Project.

The first event, for kids aged between seven and 11, was recently held with East Kilbride Youth Club (EKYC) at their ground at Kirktonholm, next to East Kilbride Station.

The camps will help raise awareness of the dangers present on the railway ahead of works to electrify the line and enhance the infrastructure, including a new Hairmyres station.

East Kilbride MSP Collette Stevenson also attended the event to watch the youngsters in action and support the railway’s safety message.

Collette Stevenson MSP said: “Safety education is crucial to our young people especially as we aim to promote more green transport links in our communities.

“The young people involved really embraced the safety talks and the variety of stakeholders such as British Transport Police and the SFA who were involved all played an active part in ensuring it was a fun day whilst raising awareness of station and track safety.

“Network Rail’s long-term commitment to embed themselves in our local communities is very welcoming and I look forward to working with them in the future.”

Graeme Robertson, club manager at EKYC, said “We were delighted to host the safety event with Network Rail and the Scottish FA. It was a fantastic day that allowed local kids to get involved in outdoor games and learn more about safety on the railway and the up-and-coming electrification project.”

Network Rail has been working with the SFA since 2018 to deliver football camps and has reached over 45,000 children across Scotland as part of the programme.

Kevin Rooney, Network Rail project sponsor for the East Kilbride works, said: “Any incident in which a member of the public is injured or killed while on the tracks is a tragedy and something we work hard to try to prevent.

“Keeping people safe on and around the railway is at the heart of everything we do, and we were delighted to work collaboratively with Scottish FA and BTP on delivering rail safety messages amongst the local community in East Kilbride.

“The work we are undertaking will mean faster, quieter electric trains will be running on the line and overhead power cables carry enough electricity to kill anyone who comes into contact with them. Making people aware of these dangers is a vital part of the enhancement project.”

For more information on the project visit: https://scotlandsrailway.com/projects/east-kilbride-enhancements