Media centre

Monday 18 Aug 2003

NETWORK RAIL PLEA TO PARENTS

Region & Route:

Following a tragic incident at the weekend when a child was killed on the track at Bootle Oriel Road station (Merseyside), Network Rail has appealed to all parents to impress on their children the hidden dangers on the railway that they may not be aware of. Trains on the Merseyrail network that stretches from Southport, Ormskirk and Kirby, through the centre of Liverpool to New Brighton, West Kirby, Ellesmere Port and Chester take their electricity from a third rail laid alongside the railway lines. To the ordinary member of the public it looks just like any other piece of rail, but it’s not  – it carries up to 750 volts of DC electricity. Anyone stepping on it or coming into contact with it in any way will find themselves stuck to it like a magnet and will receive severe burns and could quite possibly die. Other parts of the railway network such as the west coast main line, local lines in south Manchester and in parts of Cheshire take their electricity from overhead power lines. These carry 25,000 volts of AC electricity, the same type household electricity – but over 100 times stronger. You don’t even need to touch the power lines, just getting close is dangerous enough because AC electricity will jump the gap and 25,000 volts will kill you outright. Even in areas where the railway is not electrified, it is still a dangerous place to be and nobody should even think about taking a short cut across the tracks or playing on the lines. - more - Warning – 2 Trespassing on the railway is an extremely dangerous thing to do, even on a line that has relatively few passenger trains. It is quite possible that there may be engineering or freight trains in the area or other diverted services. Modern trains are fast and quiet. They can be virtually on top of a trespasser before they know it, and unlike a car, the train driver cannot swerve out of the way. They also cannot stop in a short distance. Inter-city passenger trains can weigh several hundred tonnes and, travelling at up to 110 mph, can take almost a mile and a half to stop. A Network Rail spokesman said: “What happened at the weekend was a tragedy. With two weeks of summer holidays to go before children return to school we have got to make sure there is not another accident like this. We appeal to anyone who has contact with youngsters to impress upon them the danger that they can put themselves in if they use the railway for anything other than its intended purpose.” Anyone who sees somebody trespassing on the railway or doing anything else that they should not, is urged to report it to the British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40.