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Monday 11 Apr 2022

Peep Peep! Thomas & Friends® make special trip to London to teach kids about rail safety

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

Families from Anglia who are planning a trip to London over the Easter break are being invited to come along and enjoy the fun and engage with rail safety with Thomas and the gang at London stations.

To celebrate a special episode of the much-loved children’s programme, aimed at teaching young children about rail safety, some of the show’s best-known characters including Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt are off on their latest adventure to visit some of London’s most iconic railway stations throughout the Easter holidays.

For those who are spending the Easter holidays at home, the episode is available to watch online at https://switchedonrailsafety.co.uk/3-6-years/thomas-and-friends/. The website also contains lots of interactive tools to teach railway safety for ages up to 16 years.

The exclusive episode of Thomas & Friends, aimed at three to six-year-olds, aims to gently raise awareness of the dangers of misusing the railway. The two-minute-long animation gives parents a useful way of starting a conversation about this important subject. In the episode, Thomas’ friend Diesel is being cheeky and learns his lesson when he travels too fast along the tracks in a game of red light, green light with Thomas and fellow engine Nia. Diesel learns about the dangers of misusing the railway and that it is more important to be safe, than to be silly.

Just like road safety, rail safety awareness is just as important to instil at a young age.  Data from the National Disruption Fusion Unit shows that trespass involving children and young people increases sharply in April, likely due to factors including warmer weather and longer days and the Easter Bank holiday.

In April last year (2021), children and young people trespassing on the railway was its highest level recorded since April 2017.

Dan Fisk, Network Rail’s health and safety manager for Anglia, said: “Many families across Anglia will be using rail services to enjoy days out over the Easter Holidays and this provides a good opportunity to discuss rail safety with children and encourage safe behaviour.

“Research* has shown us that most parents are very good at discussing road safety, but rail safety often gets forgotten about, or parents don’t know how to bring up the subject in an age-appropriate way with their children. Using Thomas & Friends makes it more light-hearted and creates an opportunity to bring up the subject of safety in a nurturing way.”

The campaign is being backed by comedian Sophie McCartney who is mum to nine-year-old Jack and six-year-old Evelyn, and Sunday Times number one best-selling author of, ‘Tired and Tested: The Wild Ride into Parenthood’.

Sophie said: “I have young children myself and totally agree that rail safety is a subject that should be discussed more by parents. But knowing how to get the messaging right can be tricky. I love how Network Rail and Thomas & Friends have teamed up to inject some fun into this campaign which still has safety at its heart but will make parents and children much more receptive to what they are trying to teach, because let’s be honest, which child doesn’t love an episode of Thomas & Friends!”

 

 

The launch events will be taking place at the following stations:

• London Victoria – Monday 11 April at 13:30, 14:30 and 15:30
• London Bridge – Thursday 14 April at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 16:30
• London Waterloo – Wednesday 20 April at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 16:30

 

ENDS

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

The episode is available to watch here. A password will be required before 00:01 on Monday 11 April. The password to view the video is Thomas2022.

*Research findings from Mumsnet conducted on behalf of Network Rail:

• Two thirds of parents identify that their children need to be spoken to about rail safety because they do not understand the dangers (66%).
• Families living in London are more likely to have talked about rail safety (56%) compared to 48% of parents who live outside of London.
• The gap when boarding the train is more of a concern to those families living in London (48% vs 29% outside of London), whereas going on the track is a major worry to those not living in the capital (33% vs 9% living in London).

When asked to rank the most important areas of safety to teach their children, parents ranked road safety as highest and rail safety as lowest:

1. Road safety (96%)
2. Avoiding strangers (67%)
3. Water / swimming safety in a pool (53%)
4. Online and digital safety (44%)
5. Rail safety (15%)

Research Methodology:
The survey was conducted by Mumsnet from 6th April and the 16th April 2020. 611 parents with at least one child aged 3 to 6 completed the survey. More than three quarters of these parents (77%) have more

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Mattel is a leading global toy company and owner of one of the strongest catalogues of children’s and family entertainment franchises in the world. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain and develop children through play. We engage consumers through our portfolio of iconic brands, including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Fisher-Price®, American Girl®, Thomas & Friends®, UNO® and MEGA®, as well as other popular intellectual properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include film and television content, gaming, music and live events. We operate in 35 locations and our products are available in more than 150 countries in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering children to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential