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Tuesday 22 May 2018

Leeds Station Safety Week 2018 launched

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Network Rail, British Transport Police (BTP), Leeds United Foundation and Virgin Trains East Coast  launched Leeds Station Safety Week 2018 yesterday (Monday, 21 May) to teach children how to stay safe on the railway.

Over 300 children will visit the station this week and take part in activities, including using a driver training simulator, visiting a BTP riot van and meeting a BTP dog. The activities will highlight the dangers of playing and trespassing on the railway and educate the children on how to stay safe at stations, amongst other key safety tips.

Vicki Beadle, Community Safety Manager at Network Rail, said: “This week is a great way to engage with children from an early age and explain how dangerous it is to play on or near the railway.

“We hope that the children will enjoy taking part in the activities and, more importantly, understand how important it is to stay safe when using the railway and give them the tools they need to be able to do this.”

BTP Neighbourhood Policing Team Sergeant, Rob Pile said, “We’re really looking forward to welcoming children from local schools across the city to the station throughout the week. It’s a great way for us to educate them about the dangers and reality of the railway in a fun way and engaging way, and hopefully we will inspire a few new recruits at the same time!”

Leeds United Foundation Development Manager, Gary Waddington, said: “We’re really pleased to be supporting Leeds Station Safety Week once again and to see so many local schools involved is fantastic.

"Keeping young people safe is so important and although a lot of the work the Foundation does is centred around football and developing skills we also need to keep in mind the importance of teaching them valuable lessons that will keep them safe and help with their development for the future."

Northern Rail has also helped out with the project by providing some complimentary train tickets for local children to travel to the event. A spokesperson for the company said: “Leeds Station Safety Week is an excellent opportunity for young people to experience our network and services. By learning and appreciating the railway and those who work and support their journeys, we can help them stay safe when travelling in future. We were delighted to be able to support many of the schools involved with free train travel to the event, and we hope the children enjoy the visit.”

ENDS