Glasgow Times

Bit to reduce accidents at city stations

ScotRail launch new station safety campaign

- By CAROLINE WILSON caroline.wilson@eveningtim­es.co.uk

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to reduce the number of accidents at Glasgow railway stations.

Figures show threequart­ers of slip and trip accidents at Scottish stations happen in the Strathclyd­e transport area, with most at stations in and around the city.

A MAJoR safety campaign has been launched in a bid to cut the number of accidents at Glasgow stations.

three quarters of slip and trip accidents at Scottish stations happen i n the former Strathclyd­e area, new figures show.

of 650 incidents recorded since 2009, nearly 500 happened at stations in the West of Scotland.

the new campaign, launched today, aims to cut the number of accidents, with a particular focus on children.

ScotRail say most accidents are caused by people tripping while running for trains that are about to depart.

others are caused by people rushing on esca-

It’s all about encouragin­g customers to take extra care

lators or stairs, paricularl­y during bad weather, or tripping over luggage or buggies.

A breakdown of the figures show most incidents happened at four Glasgow stations; Argyle Street, Glasgow Central low level, Queen Street and Paisley Gilmour Street.

the highest number of accidents was at Argyle Street and Glasgow Central low level, with 41 and 40 recorded respective­ly. A total of 26 accidents happened at Paisley Gilmour Street.

ScotRail say most were minor incidents.

the new station safety campaign includes a video starring cartoon characters ‘Scratch and the train Gang’, which will go live today on ScotRail’s Youtube channel.

ScotRail and British transport Police will also be giving safety talks at schools, partic- ularly those where large numbers of pupils travel to and from school by train

Steve Montgomery, ScotRail’s managing director, said: “the campaign highlights safety issues in a fun and en- gaging way, including Youtube videos, cartoon characters and poster competitio­ns.

“It’s all about encouragin­g customers of all ages, and in particular the young, to take extra care at stations.”

Chief Inspector David Gray, of British transport Police, said: “It is important to get the safety message across to young people.

“the scheme makes everyone aware of how to keep safe but in a fun and memorable way.”

transport Minister Keith Brown said: “Scotland’s railways, trains and stations can be wonderfull­y exciting places for children.

“Ensuring their safety is vital and ScotRail has done a fantastic job here of coming up with ways to make the messages just as fun and exciting.”

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 ??  ?? Scratch and the Train Gang, above, will feature in a YouTube video to help boost station safety
Scratch and the Train Gang, above, will feature in a YouTube video to help boost station safety

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