Number of people risking their lives on the railway hits 10-year-high

by
18th April 2017

New figures from Network Rail and the British Transport Police show that more people than ever are risking their lives on the rail network by trespassing on the tracks.

The data looked at trends over the last 10 years and showed that at least one person every hour trespasses on tracks. It also highlighted worrying seasonal peaks in the number of incidents, with spring and summer seeing over double the amount of young trespassers compared to the winter months.

“Every April we see a huge rise in the number of people taking a risk on the rail network and it’s worrying that these numbers seem to be going up,” said Allan Spence, Head of Public and Passenger Safety at Network Rail. “Britain has the safest railway in Europe but still too many people lose their lives on the tracks. The dangers may not always be obvious but the electricity on the railway is always on and trains can travel up to 125 miles per hour, so even if they see you, they can’t stop in time.”

Last year there were more than 8,000 incidents across the rail network of people risking their lives – an 11% increase on the previous year – and young people are more likely to take a risk, with just under half of those killed under 25.

#risktaker #southport #otsnews #onthespot #networkrail #news #train #crazylady www.otsnews.co.uk

A post shared by OTSnews.co.uk (@otsnews.co.uk) on

The data highlighted that:

  • 72% of trespassers who died over the last 10 years were struck by a train
  • 17% were electrocuted
  • 11% were killed by a fatal fall on or near the railway
  • 42% said taking a shortcut was their motivation and 19% cited thrill-seeking

In response to this, Network Rail and BTP have launched a ‘Tackling Track Safety’ programme where Network Rail community safety managers and BTP officers will teach children about railway safety.

The figures also highlighted that youth trespass is more prevalent in areas where there is socio-economic deprivation and the safety programme will specifically tackle these areas. Network Rail has also joined forced with children’s charity Bernardo’s to raise money and encourage safety education for children.

 


Submit News Contact us with your community, business or sport news. Phone 07581350321

Email ots@otsnews.co.uk

Facebook www.facebook.com/Otsnews-Southport-1575528676012039/

Twitter  www.twitter.com/onthespot_news

Breaking local news as it happens, searchable archives with photographs, the ability to instantly comment on news articles – there are so many advantages to OTS (Onthespot) News.

If you want your news read locally online then send it to ots@otsnews.co.uk – relying only on the newspaper is to restrict yourself to an ever reducing audience.