British Transport Police (BTP), Network Rail and East Midlands Railway are jointly urging parents and carers to warn young people of the dangers of trespassing following several serious trespass incidents across the East Midlands. There has been an increase in youngsters who appear to not understand the dangers of being trackside.
Tracks are live 24 hours a day, and trains travel at speeds of up to 125mph, sitting wider than the tracks they run on and often quieter than expected. A common misconception is that you must touch the cable to be electrocuted but physical contact with the cable doesn’t need to happen, 25,000 volts of electricity can jump from the overhead lines.
All these things will leave individuals with devastating, life-changing injuries, if not fatal, the BTP has said. BTP Nottingham Inspector Ellis Turner said: “Unfortunately we have seen too many times the tragic and life-changing consequences of young people ignoring the warnings about trespassing on the railway.
