Network Rail will get vital railway safety messages across to school children by teaching in the West Midlands using virtual reality headsets to reduce trespass incidents.

Over 1,700 trespass incidents took place in the West Midlands during the last financial year (2022/23) according to the latest figures by Network Rail (which include the West Coast main line and Chiltern Main Line to London), of which 250 recorded incidents involved children below the age of 18.

The figures were released as part of Network Rail’s ‘You vs Train’ campaign, which aims to show the extreme dangers of trespassing on the railway, especially as the summer holidays approach.

Monday the 27th of June saw the sixth anniversary of Harrison Ballantyne’s death, who was electrocuted whilst trying to get his football back off of the railway.

The fatal accident took place in a rail freight yard in Northamptonshire, which is over a mile away from his home. Harrison, who was only 11 years old, was struck by 25,000 volts of electricity after trespassing on the site.

In an attempt to prevent similar accidents, Harrison’s last day has been turned into a new video campaign which shows exactly how dangerous railways are.

Liz Ballantyne, Harrison’s mother, is working alongside Network Rail and British Transport Police in an attempt to get parents and carers to prioritise talking about the dangers of the railway with their children ahead of the school holidays beginning.

Liz 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.”

Network Rail’s Central route will also see the use of the video and VR headsets in order to educate young people about the dangers of trespass. The headsets have seen a £15,000 investment made by Network Rail following a successful trial by its community safety teams in the North West.

Presently, two different scenarios can be demonstrated via the headsets, both of which lead to dangerous outcomes. The first is set in the cab with the driver as they approach a trespasser on the tracks, and the second is from the perspective of a group of teens, one of which touches electrified steel rails.

Manjinder Kang, Network Rail’s Central route community safety manager, said:

“These headsets have achieved great results in getting through to children in ways normal presentations simply cannot. By virtually transporting students to a potentially dangerous place, all while being in the safety of their classroom, they can immerse themselves in that environment and see in real-time just how devastating the consequences could be. I can’t wait to get these headsets into local schools over the coming months and making a difference to drive down trespass numbers which remain stubbornly high after the pandemic.”

Across the country on the British Rail network, 18,517 trespass incidents took place over the last financial year (2022/23) with 20% of those involving young people below the age of 18. Despite these massive figures, 2022 saw a reduction in trespass incidents for young people. However, the numbers are unacceptably high and mark almost one incident per mile of track. Trespass numbers are still yet to reduce to the levels recorded prior to the pandemic.

To find out more about education recourses on railway safety and further information, please visit Network Rail’s community safety programme by clicking here.