Media centre

Friday 26 Oct 2018

Network Rail and Aberdeen FC team up for rail safety

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

The Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project has launched a new partnership with Aberdeen Football Club’s Community Trust to promote rail safety to young people.

The British Transport Police will work with the partnership to help deliver rail safety messages, which will be rolled-out through the Community Trust’s programme of holiday football camps and its extensive schools football curriculum.

The Trust programme works with 13 partner schools and will engage with thousands of children and young players.

Graeme Stewart, Network Rail senior project sponsor, said: “This partnership is a great way for Network Rail to engage with young people in the local community and bring home the importance of rail safety to them in a fun way.

“The Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project will mean more trains running through the city and we are keen to raise awareness of the dangers the railway can pose.

“Trains take a long time to stop – up to the length of 20 football pitches – and anyone who is hit by a train is likely to be killed or badly injured.”

Steven Sweeney, Community Operations Manager for Aberdeen FC Community Trust, added: “The Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project will lead to enhanced services across the North-East, further improving connectivity between communities.

“At Aberdeen FC Community Trust, we are delighted to be working in partnership with Network Rail in promoting key rail safety messages in these communities through our community activities. We thank Network Rail for their support and look forward to further developing our relationship in the future, keeping people safe and physically active.”

The Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project is a Scottish Government-funded scheme to improve journey times and increase capacity on the route between the two cities.

The benefits of the project for customers include:

• More services between Elgin and Inverness from this December, increasing during 2019 until there is an hourly service all day, providing 1,300 additional seats.

• A half-hourly service all day between Inverurie and Aberdeen from December 2019, with extra services at peak times, providing 3,000 additional seats each day.

• Additional Elgin-Aberdeen early morning and late evening services.

• InterCity trains operating between Aberdeen and Inverness, providing an extra 1,400 each day between the two cities.

• A new direct service between Inverurie and Montrose, reducing the need to change in Aberdeen.