Support Rail Safe Friendly to reduce child trespass

Safety issues affecting the public are top of mind at many rail organisations. Network Rail, for example, is targeting trespass hotspots to reduce incident numbers, which remain high. Particularly common are child-related trespass events, according to 2023 data.

Using impactful content from the Network Rail Switched On Rail Safety website, the Rail Safe Friendly programme is an extension of the ‘You vs. Train’ campaign launched by Network Rail, the British Transport Police, and industry in 2018. ‘You vs. Train’ sought to deliver rail safety messages to children and young adults across the country to keep them safe near the line. 

Working now with Learn Live, industry can reach more children in more areas and broaden its important messaging. Rail Safe Friendly delivers a variety of films, interactive games, and thought-provoking classroom activities. These efforts are training children to develop important hazard-spotting—and potentially life-saving—skills.

At the programme’s launch in March 2023, Gemma Lavery—Professional Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing at RSSB—said: ‘By bringing together Learn Live’s virtual learning environment, our insight on rail safety and trespass, funding from Network Rail, and support from the Trespass Risk Group [now the Trespass and Suicide Prevention Strategy Group], we have been able to get life-saving messages in front of the people who need to see them.’