Media centre

Monday 21 Jun 2004

“KEEP OFF THE TRACKS AND STAY ALIVE”

Region & Route:

| Southern

YOUNG PEOPLE TARGETTED WITH SAFETY MESSAGE IN LAUNCH OF NATIONAL RAILWAY CRIME WEEK ‘Keep off the track and stay alive’ is the stark but simple message that Network Rail and its industry partners delivered this week with the launch of National Railway Crime Week (21-27 June).  With school summer holidays fast approaching, the rail industry has launched an offensive to educate and warn young people and adults of the foolishness of playing on, or taking short cuts across the railway.  During the week, which coincides with National Child Safety Week, local activities have been organised at railway crime ‘hotspots’ across the UK, aimed at highlighting the problem and reducing the crime on Britain’s rail network.  ·        Railway crime hotspots in East Anglia include: Acton Central Bishops Stortford Chesterton Junction Enfield Town Hockley Marks Tey Northumberland Park Ockendon Pitsea Purfleet Thetford Tilbury Town Turkey Street Wickford There were at least 450 recorded incidents of trespass and vandalism in East Anglia during 2003 There were at least 450 recorded incidents of trespass and vandalism in East Anglia during 2003 ·        90% of crime on the railways is committed by young people aged 8-16 yrs (mostly male) ·        There is a crime every 90 seconds on the railways during peak periods (4pm-8pm in daylight hours) ·        60 people died while trespassing on the railway in 2003 (not including suicides) ·        6 children died last year whilst playing on, or taking short cuts across the railway ·        Crime on the railway costs some £260 million each year (see notes to editors) Jon Wiseman, Network Rail Route Director says: “We must make young people sit up and take notice of the dangers and foolishness of using the railway as a playground.  The consequences can be harsh, from being frog-marched home by the police to face angry parents, to hefty fines, imprisonment and possibly even serious injury or death. “As an industry we will continue to address crime on the network but we cannot do it alone.  This is not just a railway problem, but one shared with the wider community.  The crimes we see on the railway are often just the same as those being experienced on the other side of the boundary fence, although the consequences can be so much more tragic. “The school summer break is peak crime-time for the railways and we ask all schools and parents to use National Railway Crime Week to hammer home the message – keep off the tracks      and stay alive.” In an effort to target the main culprits of railway crime, a new hard hitting short film about the death of a 15-year-old boy on the railway last year, as seen through the eyes of his classmates, friends and relatives, will form the spearhead of the national campaign.   ‘Tyler 4 Ever’ has been made by the students of Soar Valley College, Leicester with the help and support of the rail industry.  It is a moving account of how they have dealt with the death of their friend, Tyler Deacon, who died on the Midland Main Line near his home in Leicester last December.  The tragedy prompted his schoolmates to tell their story in the hope that other teenagers will heed the warnings to stay away from the railway. - more - Track Off - 3As a result of their work, every secondary school in mainland Britain – some 4,750 in all – will receive a copy of the film during National Railway Crime Week, complete with teacher guidance notes and other educational materials.  These will assist schools to educate young people on the dangers of playing on the railway, in the run up to the school summer holidays. As a result of their work, every secondary school in mainland Britain – some 4,750 in all – will receive a copy of the film during National Railway Crime Week, complete with teacher guidance notes and other educational materials.  These will assist schools to educate young people on the dangers of playing on the railway, in the run up to the school summer holidays. The rail industry undertakes many other activities to educate and warn young people of the railway safety message, including: ·          Schools visits by railway workers and the British Transport Police, who take classes and assemblies ·          ‘I Dare You’ – a live theatre production about safety that tours schools ·          ‘Crucial Crews’ - schools send pupils to a centre where emergency services and railway staff talk about road and rail safety ·          Educational material supplied to schools ·          www.trackoff.org - a specially developed educational website, providing a valuable resource for teachers and schools. In recent years the co-ordinated industry initiatives to tackle railway crime have been successful in reducing crime on the line.  The latest figures released earlier this month (9 June) by the Rail Safety and Standards Board show that there was a 29% reduction in all types of reportable train accidents caused by vandalism, which includes missiles striking trains, arson on board trains and trains striking objects placed on the tracks.