Rail Safe Wessex

Network Rail and South Western Railway work in partnership with local schools on the Wessex Route to keep young people safe.

Most young people will be travelling by train, alone or with friends, once they go to secondary school. We want to ensure that all young people understand how to keep themselves safe around the rail network.

As a rail industry we do a lot to promote awareness of the risks associated with the railway. We deliver face to face rail safety sessions either at schools or at stations, provide access to educational films explaining the dangers of the rail network and offer schools opportunities to join online live rail safety awareness sessions. All of these are offered at no cost to schools.

When schools work with us to keep their children safe we recognise their commitment to rail safety education through our Rail Safe Wessex Award. The award is free to schools. Every participating school will receive a plaque to display and will be listed as a Rail Safe Wessex school at their local station.

We want to get three simple messages across:

1. Being on the railway tracks is extremely dangerous

2. Trains can run at any time of day or night, even when not shown in the timetable, or on station information displays, or online.

3. On the Wessex and South Western Railway network trains are powered by a ‘third rail’ which carries 750v of electricity.  This is always live, even when there are no trains running.

If you would like to book a face-to-face rail safety session or find out more about how to become part of Rail Safe Wessex e-mail us at schools@nrwessex.co.uk