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Tuesday 28 Jul 2015

Entertainment meets education as safety day comes to Grimsby town centre

Region & Route:

| Eastern

A street theatre group will be among the star attractions at a transport safety day set to take place in the heart of Grimsby this week.

Network Rail will join members of the emergency services and North East Lincolnshire Council’s road safety department at the outdoor spectacle where entertainment will meet education on Thursday 30 July at the site of the former bus station in the town centre.

Among the main attractions will be street theatre group Off The Level, whose 30-minute railway safety play will be performed throughout the day to raise awareness of level crossings and how to use them correctly.

The day will provide a timely reminder about level crossing safety for locals in Grimsby, as Network Rail is half way through a project to upgrade six crossings in the town centre. Work on the fourth crossing to be upgraded, Pasture Street, will begin on Saturday 1 August and will reopen in time for the morning commute on Monday 17 August.

The upgrades, which are part of an £88million investment in North Lincolnshire’s rail network, will see the six crossings installed with obstacle detection barriers – the latest in level crossing technology - which sees a laser scan the crossing to check it is clear before a train arrives.

Liz Pearson, community safety manager for Network Rail said: “This promises to be an entertaining day for the whole family but it’s also a chance to reiterate some important messages about safety at level crossings. The performance from the theatre group has some really powerful messages in it and is certainly worth coming along to see.”

The event is free of charge and runs from 10am until 2pm.

Notes to editors

Any media wishing to attend the event are asked to confirm their attendance with Toby Higgins in the Network Rail press office via email or telephone prior to the event.