More than 2,000 railway trespass incidents in North West this year

Latest figures show more than 2,000 people have risked their lives trespassing on North West rail routes in the last year.

The figures have been released by Network Rail as part of the You vs Train campaign to highlight the dangers of railway trespass this summer.

Today (27 June) is the sixth anniversary of the death of Harrison Ballantyne, who was electrocuted while trying to retrieve a football from the railway.

The 11-year-old was struck by 25,000 volts of electricity after trespassing into a rail freight yard more than a mile away from his home.

The last day of his life has been turned into a new video campaign to show just how dangerous the railway can be.

Harrison’s mother – Liz Ballantyne - has joined forces with Network Rail and the British Transport Police (BTP) to ask that parents and carers talk to their children about the dangers present on the railway, as a matter of priority, before the school holidays begin.

Ms Ballantyne said: 

“The summer holidays should be about freedom and I always encouraged Harrison to go out and have adventures. I taught him about “stranger danger” and to be careful around water, but I just hadn’t realised that I needed to teach him about rail safety as there was no railway station near our village. I learnt of its importance too late, but I don’t want others to suffer as I have. Please sit down with your children and loved ones and talk to them about the dangers present around the railway so they know how to keep themselves safe whilst they are out having fun.” 

Latest figures show that there were 18,517 trespass incidents on the British rail network in the last financial year (2022/23), 20 per cent of which (around 3,700) involved young people under the age of 18.

In the North West the total was 2,098, with 471 – or 22% - of those children.

To reduce that number Network Rail is using the latest technology to educate young people about the dangers.

This month it teamed up with the Stockport County Community Trust to deliver education sessions to Year 6 pupils using virtual reality headsets alongside football training at Dial Park Primary School in Hazel Grove.

The students were shown two different scenarios through the headsets leading up to a dangerous outcome.

This included being in the train cab with a driver as they approached a trespasser on the track, and then from the perspective of a group of teenagers leading up to one of them touching electrified steel rails on the ground which power trains.

Chris McLaughlin, Network Rail community safety manager, said: 

“There’s a real excitement from the children when they use the headsets, and however hard I try I never get a reaction like that from my Powerpoint presentations. Combining the lessons with the football sessions feels like we’re onto a real winner.

“Working with a sporting team like Stockport County Community Trust has so much more influence and it really helps us to deliver our important railway safety message alongside an agency which people already respect, love and trust.”

Matthew Bailey, Stockport County community partnership manager, said:

“It’s great to be teaming up with Network Rail so we can both promote the work we do for local communities. The feedback we’ve had so far from schools and groups taking part has been really positive, with the virtual reality and football mix proving to be a real hit with the children.”

James Clarke, headteacher at Dial Park Primary, said: 

“It’s been great to see the children really engage with these lessons and even though they’re in the safety of the classroom they can be transported to a potentially dangerous place to see for themselves what the consequences could be. I’m certain it’s a lesson the children will never forget and they now know the railway is not a place to trespass for any reason.”

For more educational resources on railway safety and information on Network Rail’s community safety programme visit: 

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/safety-in-the-community/safety-education/