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Thursday 30 Apr 2026

Filmmakers bring rail safety to classrooms across the South West

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

• Big-screen special effects experts lend their cutting-edge skills to help teach the South West schoolchildren about rail safety
• Each week, 77 children put themselves at risk of harm on Britain’s railway
• Schools are getting innovative new hard-hitting films ahead of rail safety becoming a compulsory part of the national curriculum later this year.

Each week, children and young people continue to put themselves at risk on Britain’s railway, with new data showing this risk is particularly acute across the South West.

Production techniques more commonly seen on the big screen are being used to help schoolchildren in the South West understand the deadly risks of trespassing on Britain’s railways.

Network Rail is today launching a new suite of five educational films for use in schools - including one animated film for older Key Stage 2 pupils and four live‑action films for Key Stages 3 and 4.

The hard-hitting films use realistic scenarios and visual effects to show the consequences of contact with live electrical equipment on the railway, a danger that is often invisible or underestimated.

New figures show there were 265 trespass incidents across the Network Rail the South West route in 2025/26. More than 57% of these incidents occurred between April and August, underlining the importance of teaching children about rail safety ahead of the summer months, when incidents typically rise.

Nationally, around 4,000 rail trespass incidents each year involve children and young people under the age of 18, roughly 77 children every week, accounting for around 20 per cent of all trespass incidents.

Designed to appeal to a generation accustomed to high‑production video and streaming services, the films use dramatic visual storytelling and special effects to show the real‑world consequences of misjudging risks around the railway. This includes the dangers posed by live third rails and overhead power lines.

The films were developed with input from frontline medical professionals, including Nicole Lee, a burns nurse and Network Manager for London and the South-East at the NHS, working alongside film industry specialists with experience on Netflix productions and big-budget TV and film productions including the Game of Thrones and the Harry Potter film franchise.

Using controlled special effects, the films depict injuries based on real clinical cases Nicole has treated, ensuring the content is medically accurate, responsible and suitable for classroom use.

Available free to schools in the South West via the Switched On Rail Safety website, the classroom‑ready films are aimed at pupils aged nine to 16 and designed to support teachers as they teach children about rail safety, which will become a compulsory topic in the PSHE curriculum from September 2026.

Louise McNally, trespass prevention lead at Network Rail, said: “Britain has one of the safest railways in the world, but if you don’t stick to the rules, or if you stray out of bounds, you put yourself at risk of harm. This new series of films has been produced to ensure that young people get important life-saving rail safety information in an engaging and memorable way. The films show what the real consequences of coming into contact with the dangers around the railway are.

“With trespass incidents peaking during the summer months, it is vital that our children understand the risks now, so they know how to keep themselves out of harms’ way.”

The films are supported by lesson‑ready materials, designed to help teachers in the South West introduce rail safety into PSHE and safeguarding lessons. Teachers and safeguarding leads are encouraged to visit switchedonrailsafety.co.uk to access these and other rail safety films and classroom resources ahead of the curriculum change in September 2026.