Media centre

Thursday 30 Jan 2020

Network Rail invites primary school pupils to educational day at Leeds station

Region & Route:

Eastern

Last week, Network Rail taught pupils from the Leeds area about railway safety, as well as work which is taking place to upgrade the station.

On Wednesday, 22 January, 40 pupils from Hillcrest, Richmond Hill, Morley Newlands and Ryecroft Academy attended a day out at Leeds station to learn more about the railway.

A £161 million project is currently taking place at the station to meet the rising demand for rail travel to and from the city. This includes the construction of a new platform, platform 0, which is due to open in 2021. This will create much needed additional capacity for trains and help to reduce the spread of knock-on delays during times of disruption.

As part of the day, the pupils, aged 8-9, took part in a ‘Leaves on the Track’ science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) workshop. This involved an interactive activity to understand how Network Rail combats the problem of leaves on the lines to minimise disruption to train journeys.

The pupils were also given a tour of the station, taught about electrification safety and how to stay safe on the railway. The students had been asked to design art work of the station and a banner showing their designs was unveiled on the day.

Sarah Rial, Stakeholder and Social Value Manager on behalf of Network Rail, said: “This was a fantastic day at the station, and it was great to have the children unveil the banner which they have been working hard on for the last year. We have worked with over 280 students across the city in the last year to teach them about the railway."

Mrs Burnill, teacher at Morley Newlands Academy, said: “We had a fantastic day at Leeds railway station and working with Network Rail. The children were greatly enthused by the STEM activities and meeting professionals who could challenge and extend their knowledge. It really got their brains thinking scientifically with an application to the wider world."