Media centre

Friday 13 Dec 2013

New campaign to bring Scottish station escalator falls down

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail has launched a new CCTV and poster campaign today (Friday, December 13) to try to reduce the number of incidents involving people slipping or falling on station escalators.

The latest annual figures* show that more than 400 people took a tumble on an escalator at the 17 biggest and busiest stations in Britain, with 25 incidents recorded at Edinburgh Waverley and five at Glasgow Central.

Network Rail, which operates Central and Waverley and other major stations across the country, is raising awareness now as Christmas sees an increase in risks such as passengers with heavy luggage or shopping bags, people rushing in high heels, and those who have had too much to drink.

Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s managing director of network operations, said: "Stations are increasingly busy places but the majority of slips and falls we see could still be avoided. We often see people struggling with several pieces of luggage on escalators when the lift would be easier for them. It might sound obvious, but simply holding the handrail can be the difference between an uneventful escalator ride and a bump and bruise – or worse. We hope that the new campaign will act as a friendly reminder to take a little extra care when you're travelling during this busy festive period."

The poster, which will be placed in all 17 Network Rail managed stations across Britain, features a 'balloon man' about to step onto an escalator filled with drawing pins. The creative analogy aims to draw attention to the fact that a moving staircase can be dangerous and that you need to take extra care. This, along with a YouTube montage of CCTV footage of recent incidents, highlighting the often painful consequences of taking a tumble at a station, will run for four weeks.