| Network Rail launches new rail safety campaign |
| Monday, 06 July 2009 | |
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The above image is taken from the new poster campaign which uses coffin-shaped railway sleepers with RIP messages describing how trespassers met their fate and will be launched at Britain’s biggest railway stations today. 6th July 2009. The campaign begins as Network Rail reveals how people have jumped onto the tracks at busy main line stations such as Leeds, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime St and Waterloo 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. (Birmingham New Street, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Edinburgh Waverley, Euston, Fenchurch Street, Gatwick Airport, Glasgow Central, King's Cross, Leeds, Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Manchester Piccadilly, Paddington, St Pancras, Victoria and Waterloo) 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. (See our stories 19 July 2008 & 11 April 2009) 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 either along the 20,000 miles of track between stations or 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. Tragically two people have lost their lives this year at Burgess Hill station in Sussex and Westgate on Sea in Kent after stepping on the third rail which powers the trains along those routes. Both occured late at night. Station staff and transport police work tremendously hard to help thousands of people get home safe 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. Martin Gallagher, head of community safety at Network Rail said: “We’ve had some success in bringing down the number of incidents across the network, but we cannot be complacent, and that is why we’re launching this poster campaign to highlight the very real dangers of trespassing on the railway. “We’re also 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.” British Transport Police Chief Superintendent Operations, David Wildbore said: “There is never a safe time for a member of the public to step onto the tracks – trains operate 24 hours a day across the network and busy stations are subject to alterations in train movements at a moments notice. “A missed train or lost mobile phone is a minor inconvenience when compared to the risk of death or the kind of serious, life changing injuries people suffer when the have been hit by a train. “My advice to passengers is simple: Never step on to the tracks to take a shortcut and if you drop something onto the track, ask rail staff for assistance – they will always do their best to retrieve your item.” There are two posters in the campaign with one highlighting the dangers posed by the third rail. The third rail powers trains by up to 750 volts in some parts of the southern England network and on Merseyside and is never switched off. No Messin' Live events where young people can try out and enjoy a range of free sports and arts activities are taking place across the country this summer.
Livingston 22 July |
