Network Rail is attempting to cut the number of rail trespass incidents for the North West with a mix of sport and railway safety sessions using virtual reality.

A massive 2,127 trespass incidents have taken place over Network Rail‘s North West route since November 2021.

From March 2021 and March 2022, across Britain’s rail network, 19,408 trespass incidents were recorded, one-quarter of which involved under 18s.

In order to deal with the number of trespassing incidents, Network Rail is collaborating with Stockport County Community Trust and will work with young people across the Greater Manchester area. The two organisations began working together during the summer and are getting the message out to encourage healthy play and rail safety awareness.

Chris McLaughlin, Network Rail community safety manager, said:“There’s a real buzz 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.”

Dial Park Primary School saw the latest session which involved 45 year 6 pupils taking part in the vital safety lesson.

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.”

During the session, the children saw two different scenarios using the headset both of which lead to danger including being in the train cab with a driver as they neared a trespasser on the track. The second scenario involved the perspective of a group of teenagers and lead up to one of them touching electrified steel rails which provide power for trains.

Here’s what three of the pupils thought:

Tyler said:

“It felt cool but when the train was coming it felt scary at the same time. It’s just dangerous you can get hit by a train or you can get electrocuted.”

Samara said:

“I thought it was really cool technology and it felt like you were in the real place.”

Jessica said:

“What I learned was don’t trespass on the railway, it’s dangerous you could end up in hospital, don’t do it.”

Part of the rail industries You Vs Train campaign, the sessions aim to put children and young people off of going on to the railway.

A powerful new video was launched in Autumn and is called ‘Harrison’s story’ and focuses on 11-year-old Harrison Ballantyne who tragically died when he was electrocuted by overhead power cables after wandering into a rail freight depot to get back a lost football.