Media centre

Thursday 20 Mar 2025

Trespassing shown red card in rail safety football workshops

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Young lives are potentially being saved in Scotland as Network Rail and the Scottish Football Association deliver more than 1,100 rail safety workshops with football clubs. 

Nearly 45,000 under 18s took part in the sessions in 2024, which were held at 61 clubs and combine the fun of training with vital advice from Network Rail experts on how to stay safe near the railway. Around 20% of participants were female, reflecting an increasing interest among women and girls in grassroots football.  

The goal of the workshops is to reduce the number of young people trespassing on Scotland’s railway, with the equivalent of one incident recorded every day last year (356 incidents). This is down from 460 in 2023.   

Network Rail and the Scottish FA teamed up in 2018 for the initiative, which is now delivered nationally across all six regions, and has so far reached a total of more than 180,000 young people.  

Network Rail Scotland health, safety and environment director, Innis Keith, said: “These workshops are proof that how we deliver our message matters just as much as the message itself. Together, we’ve turned railway safety awareness into an activity thousands of young people are engaging in.     

“Electricity from the railway can ‘jump’ up to three metres – that’s more than the height of a full-size goal. Not only that, but it can take the length of 20 football pitches for a full-speed train to come to a stop. Trespassing risk lives and our message is clear – stay safe, stay off the tracks.”   

During the football sessions, each player is provided with a bib branded with safety messaging and receives an informative chat from their Scottish FA coach about the dangers of trespassing and how to use the railway safely. 

Shirley Martin, Head of Girls' and Women's Football at the Scottish FA, said: "Partnerships with organisations like Network Rail are vital in demonstrating how impactful the power of football can be in a variety of different ways. Not only does the partnership encourage young people to participate in football, but sharing educational safety messages in conjunction can be such a powerful and impactful mechanism for change.   

“Not only is this collaboration aimed at saving young lives, but it encourages children to get involved in football with their friends which not only keeps them physically active but also empowers them with essential life skills such as teamwork, communication, and resilience.   

“We are thrilled to report that the last block saw the highest ever number of girls participating in the Network Rail program. This achievement also reflects the steady growth of the girls' and women's game in Scotland." 

Network Rail’s partnership with the Scottish FA is funded until the end of 2026 with a target of reaching at least 30,000 under 18s every year. Each session is also open to non-club members to increase participation.