Three young boys have been spotted risking their lives as they take photos at a level crossing in March on the busy Ely to Peterborough rail line.
The boys are completely oblivious to the dangers as they set up a tripod to take photos on the tracks. Passenger services are still running on this line and this is a busy freight route for the many ports in the Anglia region. Freight trains travel up to 100mph and over the last few weeks the number of freight services have increased to transport goods up and down the country.
Parents and carers are being urged to hammer home the railway safety message – ‘keep off the tracks’ now schools are closed. Data shows that trespass incidents rise during the school holidays so children may be temped to trespass or take a shortcut across the railway lines.
More than 1,800 trespass incidents occurred on Anglia’s rail network last year. Nationally, more than 13,500 trespass incidents occur on the rail network each year, a quarter of which involve youths.
Becky Crocker, Network Rail’s community safety manager for Anglia, said: “There are so many dangers on the railway, so it’s truly shocking to see these young boys risking their lives like this for a photo. This is a busy line and we are running more freight services to transport goods around the country right now.
“I urge all parents to please talk to your children, access our free school railway safety lessons and help us to help protect young people. Taking risks on and around the railway nearly always results in horrendous consequences for everyone.”
With the early closure of schools, parents have the opportunity to sign up for free online tutorials of the You Vs Train railway safety lessons, which are normally broadcast into schools via the rail industry’s educational partner LearnLive; visit https://learnliveuk.com/trespass-awareness-week/ for more details.
Photo credit: Network Rail
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