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Video: Watch a trailer
for the safety DVD

A campaign has been launched to highlight to young people the
dangers of trespassing on the high speed railway line running
through Kent.

A 12-minute DVD, part of Network Rail's 'No Messin'' campaign,
will be shown to youngsters in more than 300 schools and youth
groups in Kent, Essex and Greater London, in an effort to keep them
away from the tracks.

Trains on the line between the Channel Tunnel at Cheriton, near
Folkestone and St Pancras in central London can reach speeds of up
to 186mph, over twice the speed of most domestic rail services in
the region.

Anne-Marie Batson, community safety manager at Network Rail,
said: "It is madness for young people to play on any railway line,
but owing to the fact the high-speed trains are bigger, faster and
quieter, we have developed this initiative to highlight some of the
specific dangers associated with them.

"We hope that by getting these messages across we can help
prevent a needless tragedy."

Ben Ruse from High Speed 1, which owns this stretch of railway,
said: "You have a combination of 800-tonne trains doing over 80
metres per second with power lines carrying 25,000 volts -
there would be no chance of survival if you come into contact with
either of them.

"You might as well play football on the motorway."

Left to right: Ch Supt
Mark Newton, Ben Ruse, Paul Hodson and Anne-Marie Batson at
the DVD's launch. Picture: Nick Johnson

In 2008, Network Rail received 935 reports of people putting
their lives on the line by trespassing on Kent’s tracks.

So far there have been few incidents on the High Speed 1 line,
which Eurostar trains travel on at up to 186mph – more than double
the speed of regular rail services.

But with new "bullet" trains to the capital set to use it as
well from as early as the summer, transport bosses are going to
play a hard-hitting DVD called No Messin’ to children at hundreds
of schools and youth groups across Kent to keep them away.

It uses watermelons to represent a person’s head being crushed
by a train, shows how stones can kill passengers and electricity
can jump from the lines.

And it delivers the thought-provoking message: "If you get hit
by a high-speed train, we won’t need a stretcher – just a body
bag."

Pupils at Swan Valley Community School in Swanscombe, near
Ebbsfleet International Station, worked with Network Rail to create
the DVD.

Assistant head teacher Paul Hodson said: "You could have heard a
pin drop when our students watched it."

Ch Supt Mark Newton, from BTP, said: "The simple message is that
the railway is not a playground. If you play around on these lines,
be prepared to pay the ultimate price.

"Trespassing on or interfering with the railway is extremely
dangerous and you could end up with a criminal record as a result.
However, the greatest deterrent should be the fact that you could
be seriously injured or even lose your life."