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Monday 11 May 2015

Powerful railway film reminds kids about dangers of distraction

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A hard-hitting film released by Network Rail reminds young people of the need to always remain alert when near the railway.

Targeted at school children aged 12 years old and older, the film “No going back” highlights how seemingly harmless pranks or jokes with friends can lead to fatal consequences.

The film tells the story of Jenni, a schoolgirl who appears to be having a bad day. We see her at the start of the day being ignored by her family at home and her friends on the way into and at school. We then see Jenni happily interacting with her girlfriends, laughing and joking with them at a railway station. She has grabbed her friend’s mobile phone and is reading aloud text messages from an admirer. Nearby a group of school boys are daring one of their number to run across the track. The friend grabs her phone back, Jenni loses her footing and falls onto the track just as a train pulls into the station. It all becomes clear. Jenni isn’t being ignored; she hasn’t been seen as she is a ghost …

Over the last five years there have been:

• more than 1100 trespass incidents on the railway*.
• 142 of these trespass incidents resulted in fatalities. 70% of those involved being struck by a train
• 254 people were injured as a result of trespassing onto the track

The figures show that recorded incidents increase by around 9% over the summer months.

The rail safety film is being rolled out by Network Rail’s team of community safety managers nationally. Nicola Doories, is part of the team and has been instrumental in the creation of the film. She explains:

“Films like these are a great way to engage school children and really bring home how dangerous the railway can be. Many schools are located close to the railway track so we believe the behaviour shown in the film is something all children can identify with.

“We hope that everyone who sees this film will be able to put themselves in the character’s shoes and realise that messing around near the track can have very dire consequences.”

Oxted School in Surrey is one of the first schools to screen the film to its pupils. Nicola Euridge, Head of School at Oxted explained: “Our school is located really near to a train station so many of our pupils use it as part of their daily journey. The station’s platforms can get really crowded so we are always stressing the importance of good and safe behaviour on the way to and from school. Films like this help to bring that message home in a very realistic way.”

The film has been created by Think Again Productions.

Notes to editors:

• Statistics proved by Rail Safety Standards Board covering the period April 2010 to April 2015.
• Network Rail has a schools programme – Rail Life – teaching both primary and secondary school children about how to stay safe when crossing the railway
• Our network of community safety managers work closely with local groups, councils and schools via to raise awareness of railway safety
• Think Again productions - http://thinkagainproductions.co.uk/ -  is a Brighton-based production company.