The Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership (CRP) brought together local and rail industry partners for an annual event to inspire primary school students to travel safely and independently by train.
The event, on the 4th and 5th of June at Locomotion in Shildon, aimed to tackle the growing problem of trespass on the railway through safety-based activities.
Having arrived at the event via train, the 180 Year 6 pupils from primary schools in Bishop Auckland, Shildon and Darlington took part in a carousel of activities covering rail safety, journey planning, mental wellbeing and driver experience. Sessions were delivered by British Transport Police, CrossCountry, Network Rail, Northern and The Railway Children.
The pupils heard about what it’s like to work in the rail industry from drivers and staff in customer services, train performance and community rail.
The event was supported by Community Rail Network, ISS (rail solutions), LNER, Locomotion, Shildon Station Adopters, TransPennine Express, Tyne Valley CRP and Weardale Railway.
Jess Young, rail education officer for the Bishop Line CRP, said: “It was fantastic to give so many young people the opportunity to embed their learning around these vitally important rail safety messages.
“Meeting rail professionals in person and gaining an insight into their roles will be a lasting experience for these students; one they will recall when making independent and rail-safe choices. They have gained confidence as rail users and I’m sure many of them will also have been inspired to consider rail as a possible career option for the future.”
Felicity Machnicki, officer for the Bishop Line CRP, said: “This event is now in its second year and its geographic reach has increased. It is a fantastic example of the rail industry working together to address national issues such as trespass, low travel confidence and mental wellbeing challenges, in a welcoming community setting.
“We intend to involve more schools from along the line at future events.”
Jason Wade, regional director for Northern, said: “It’s fantastic to see colleagues across the rail industry come together and give these pupils the confidence to travel by train in the future.
“We also welcome any opportunity to teach children important lessons about staying safe on the railways and show them how our staff work to run services for people across the North.”
Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from the Bishop Line CRP via their website.
