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Monday 26 Jun 2017

How many dangers can you spot? Children in the South East learn about railway safety with help of model railway

Region & Route:

| Southern

Children from Bognor Regis, West Sussex, have built a model train set to help school pupils across the South East learn about the dangers of the railway.

Designed and built by the junior section of the Bognor Regis Model Railway club, the train set will to be used in sessions delivered by Network Rail at schools across the region as part of a railway safety campaign. The model has level crossings, fencing, identifies safe access points to the railway and even replicates the third electrified rail so children can see and understand the potentially lethal consequences of playing on the line.

The railway made its debut at Rose Green School in the town, controlled by young Callum Farthing, 11, a pupil at the school and railway modeller. Pupils competed in teams to spot as many dangers as they could, from trespassing to mis-using level crossings. 

Philip Craig, headteacher of Rose Green School, said: ‘“It’s fantastic that the children have had this opportunity, not only to show their skills of building a complex railway layout, but to use it as a teaching tool to highlight the dangers of playing on or near railways. I am so pleased that the children have had this opportunity to learn about the risks associated with the railway and I would like to thank Callum Farthing from Bognor Regis Model Railway Club and Network Rail, for enabling this to happen.”

Nicola Dooris, community safety manager for Network Rail, said; “The project has been rewarding for me and the junior members, who have combined modelling and creativity with learning new skills. They brought a young person’s perspective to the design of the layout which I am sure will add to its success in getting the message about safety around railways to primary school children.

 “As the railway continues to gets busier we must continue to work even harder to keep young people safe by making them aware of the dangers that exist.”

Stephen Nicholson, from Bognor Regis Model Railway Club, said: “This was a really rewarding and fulfilling project which combined giving something to the community, using our creativity and also providing a positive activity involving our younger members.”

The train set is portable and Network Rail plans to use it for visits to other schools in the South East region.