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The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has entered a partnership with Rail Safe Friendly to send a message to children about the dangers of trespassing on the railway.

Rail Safe Friendly was launched in March 2023 by Stuart Heaton after 11-year-old Harrison Ballantyne tragically died when he received a fatal electric shock after climbing over a fence into at a train depot to retrieve his football.

The programme is run by Learn Live, which uses its video channel to deliver Network Rail’s messages about safety directly to schools.

Since 2019, the medium of Learn Live has enabled Network Rail’s Trespass Improvement Team safety message to be seen by over 21 million young people in over 12,500 schools across the UK.

Schools can aim to achieve three levels of participation in the Rail Safe Friendly Initiative:

• Bronze level, where a school ensures all pupils and teachers have watched the rail safety broadcast, provided feedback after the broadcast, and signed up to receive rail safety updates from Network Rail
• Silver level also requires schools to promote the Switched-On Rail Safety website on their social media channels.
• Gold level requires a school to create a rail safety video, podcast, or poster and promote it in their school and social media channels using a brief provided by Learn Live.

Ensuring the safety of Britain’s Railways is at the heart of what we do at the Office of Rail and Road. Our inspectors are out on the network every day, ensuring that railway companies continue to make Britain’s railways safe for passengers, workers and the public.

Trespass remains a significant risk on the railway, and the law requires companies to take reasonable steps to prevent people from getting access. However, it is also important to ensure that people are informed about the risks, so they are equipped to act responsibly around the railway.

“I have seen first-hand the devastating impact that Harrison’s death had on his family and friends. Educational programmes, such as Rail Safe Friendly, play an important role in ensuring that children and young people have the knowledge and skills to know how to keep themselves away from danger.

Patrick Talbot, ORR’s HM Principal Inspector of Railways

It is monumental that the ORR, as the regulator for health and safety on Britain’s rail network, has joined Rail Safe Friendly. The regulator’s support of this vital rail safety project shows true leadership and an expectation of the industry.

We are delighted to welcome the ORR to Rail Safe Friendly. The support of the rail industry is pivotal in rail safety education being delivered to as many schools and youth organisations as possible, across the country.

I am heartened to say that, since Rail Safe Friendly launched in March 2023, it has been embraced by train operating companies, freight operating companies and small to large organisations working across the rail supply chain, with one goal, to ensure children receive vital knowledge to keep them rail safe

Stuart Heaton, Managing Director of Learn Live and Rail Safe Friendly