SLC, a rail development and delivery specialist, is celebrating six months of its partnership with Rail Safe Friendly, which has already seen 4,279 young people educated about the dangers of trespassing on or near the railway.
Rail Safe Friendly delivers video safety content about the dangers of trespassing on railways directly to schools via digital education provider Learn Live, which, since 2019, has reached more than 21 million young people in over 12,500 schools across the UK in partnership with the Trespass Improvement Team at Network Rail.
SLC’s partnership with the programme is helping to sponsor schools to receive this video safety content nearby where the company is working on projects. This includes two schools in Northumberland, where SLC is working with Northumberland County Council and other key partners to reintroduce passenger trains on the Northumberland Line between Ashington and Newcastle to improve regional connectivity and stimulate economic growth. This further adds to the work that Northumberland County Council, Northern, Network Rail, the construction contractors Morgan Sindall, and Nexus have all been doing to visit schools in a two-mile radius of the route to teach pupils how to stay safe on the railway.
Sam Uren, Director of SLC, said: “As an SME, we were particularly keen to work with Rail Safe Friendly to help have a bigger social value impact in the communities we work and ensure more school children are educated about rail safety.
“As we help our clients to build new rail stations and open new rail lines, it’s fantastic to see how many young people we have reached in just six months of our partnership and we look forward to seeing the impact this partnership has in the next six months.”
Stuart Heaton, Managing Director of Rail Safe Friendly and Learn Live, said: “We are delighted to be working with SLC Rail on their Rail Safe Friendly Contract. Through their support, we have been able to reach even more young people with vital rail safety awareness with the aim of saving lives and preventing injuries on the country’s rail network and in yards, depots, and sidings.” “It is crucial that young people receive vital knowledge, at a young age, to keep them rail safe. The Rail Safe Friendly programme seeks to educate children and young people on the many dangers that are present on the railway.”
Businesses and organisations that want to partner with Rail Safe Friendly, or schools that want to be certified, can register their interest at www.railsafefriendly.com.
