Tuesday 1 Aug 2006
STAY SAFE THIS SUMMER – STAY OFF THE TRACKS
- Region & Route:
Schools out for summer, which means lazy days and long summer nights. And Network Rail is issuing a warning to young people in Nottinghamshire to stay away from the railway this summer holiday. Tom Birch, Network Rail’s Area General Manager for the East Midlands said: “Young people who play on the railway do so because they think they have nothing else to do. And the longer summer evenings can make this problem worse. But the railway can be a dangerous place, and trespassing on the tracks mean risking disfigurement and death. We don’t want any young person to die this summer as a result of playing on the railway, and that’s why we’re warning them to stay off the tracks.” In Nottinghamshire this month alone there have been 12 incidents of trespass and vandalism: taking shortcuts, stone throwing at trains and placing objects on the track. These all have potentially drastic consequences to individuals, passengers and train drivers. Trains travel at up to 125 mph, they can’t swerve out of the way, and they take the length of 20 football pitches to stop in an emergency. Tom Birch added: “You wouldn’t hang around on a motorway- so why the railway? Stay safe, stay away from the tracks.”
Notes to editors
Five young people (all under 16) died on the railway last year as a result of trespass Network Rail is committed to combating trespass and vandalism by the following initiatives: • No Messin’! a national campaign to stop young people messing around on the railway tracks, and reduce the number of resultant deaths and injuries by getting them doing something better with their time. www.no-messin.com • ‘Operation Scarecrow’, human scarecrows patrol the hot spot areas in Nottinghamshire to deter trespassers and reacting quickly to reports of vandalism • Dedicated Railway Crime Education Managers visit schools and road shows in the Nottinghamshire area educating young people about the dangers of the railway.
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