Media centre

Monday 6 Jul 2009

SHOCK COFFIN POSTERS WARN - STAY OFF MANCHESTER'S TRACKS OR RISK DEATH

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A poster campaign using coffin-shaped railway sleepers with RIP messages describing how trespassers met their fate is to be launched at Britain’s biggest railway stations today (6 July).

The campaign begins as Network Rail reveals how, astonishingly, people have jumped onto the tracks at busy main line stations such as Manchester Piccadilly to retrieve dropped mobile phones, hats, bags, and even spectacles. Others, realising they are on the wrong platform, decided to run across the tracks instead of crossing safely via the concourse or footbridge. In total there were 144 reported incidents of trespass at the 18 stations managed by Network Rail. All risked serious injury or death.

The posters, which ask “what price your life?” aim to raise awareness of the very real dangers of trespassing on the railway and come ahead of Network Rail’s summer No Messin’ Live campaign fronted by boxing champion Amir Khan.

Last year there were around 9,000 reported incidents of trespass on Britain’s railway, although the true figure is thought to be much higher. Whilst the majority of incidents occur along the 20,000 miles of track between stations and at level crossings, platform to platform trespass at stations is a significant problem that train drivers, station staff and transport police have to deal with.

Station staff and transport police work tremendously hard to help thousands of people get home safely after a night out but this is when trespass issues at stations tend to increase. Over a third of trespass incidents at the 18 Network Rail managed stations occurred after 9pm.

Duncan Law, Network Rail station manager at Piccadilly said: “We’re seeing a lot of incidents happen after 9pm, when maybe after a night out, people’s judgements aren’t at their best. You wouldn’t step out in front of a speeding car to retrieve a mobile phone or a bag you’d dropped, so why jump onto the tracks as a train approaches? I think these posters make it crystal clear that you are risking your life by trespassing on the railway and we hope to reduce the number of incidents further and ultimately save lives.”