Location: Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Newton, Blantyre, Hamilton, Airbles, and Motherwell
Theme: Rail Safety, Education, Community Engagement
Partners: Rail 74 CRP, ScotRail, Learn Live, Local Schools, CRP Volunteers
About the Project
The Rail Safety Friendly Project is Rail 74 Community Rail Partnership’s (CRP) flagship education initiative for 2024–2025. Focused on improving rail safety awareness in local schools, the project builds strong partnerships with educators, learners, and rail operators to help reduce rail-related accidents and build a new generation of safe, confident rail users.
Working with the Learn Live team and CRP volunteers, we brought digital learning, real-life train journeys, and interactive experiences into the heart of 20 Lanarkshire schools – inspiring over 8,800 children, teachers, and families.
The Need
Rail safety has become a growing concern in our communities. Feedback from British Transport Police and Network Rail highlighted increasing incidents of trespass across our stations. At the same time, many young people – particularly from low-income families – had never travelled by train before.
We saw an opportunity to do two things:
- Raise awareness of safety risks around the rail network
- Improve confidence in train travel, especially for young people and those from deprived areas
What We Did
We rolled out a two-part rail safety and engagement programme:
💻 Rail Safe Friendly Bronze Level (Digital Learning)
- Sponsored 20 schools to join the Rail Safe Friendly programme by Learn Live
- Each school streamed a high-impact rail safety broadcast (live or on-demand)
- Students registered on the Switch On Rail Safety site to receive future updates
- Teachers submitted feedback and reflections
🚆 Real-Life Rail Journeys
- Selected 5 schools took part in guided train trips
- For some pupils, this was their first ever rail journey
- One group visited ScotRail HQ and GOMA in Glasgow, combining rail learning with a cultural experience
- Rail 74 CRP volunteers supported logistics, safety, and engagement
Impact & Outcomes
🎯 Over 8,800 pupils reached across 20 primary and secondary schools
🎯 3 schools (195 pupils) travelled by train as part of the programme
🎯 50% of pupils on trips had never been on a train before
🎯 £3M+ in social value delivered (source: Rail Social Value Toolkit)
Voices from the Community
“Very engaged, it caught and kept their attention from the very beginning. It made the dangers clear and encouraged them to pay attention from the initial story.” – Teacher feedback
“Videos are informative and make clear the dangers of a railway line.” – School support staff
“We didn’t expect such a positive reaction from the adults too – it reignited interest in train travel among the teachers themselves!” – Suzie McCheyne, Project Lead
What We Learned
- The Learn Live platform was a powerful tool – scalable, measurable, and impactful.
- The real-life trips made a deep impression, especially among children who had never travelled by train due to financial constraints.
- Positive engagement with teachers and support staff has laid the foundation for future collaboration.
- Partnerships with ScotRail and McDonald’s (free meals) provided meaningful added value.
Next Steps
We aim to build on this success by:
- Encouraging more schools to progress to higher levels of Rail Safe Friendly accreditation
- Expanding the number of train journeys supported through in-kind or funded travel
- Seeking sponsorship to sustain and grow the programme in 2025 and beyond
Acknowledgements
This project was proudly supported by ScotRail, Learn Live, and our local CRP volunteers. We thank the schools, staff, and pupils who took part and helped champion safer railways for all.
Would you like to bring Rail Safety Friendly to your school or community group?
📩 Contact us at rail74crp.org/contact
Rail 74 CRP Feedback 24/25
Glencairn Primary School, ML1 1TT
How engaged were the students with the safety video presentation from Network Rail?
Very engaged, it caught and kept their attention from the very beginning. It made the dangers
clear and encouraged them to pay attention from the initial story.
Do you think they now know more about the dangers of the railway than before the start of the session?
Yes.
Did your students have any questions or comments about the videos? If so, what were they saying?
A lot of them were not aware of electrified rail lines and were concerned about how far to be from
the rails when waiting for a train. They were also shocked by how far you could be from live rails
and still be electrocuted.
What other information would you like us to include in the Network Rail presentation about rail safety or
the railways in general that would be of interest to your students?
All explained thoroughly enough.
Townhead Primary School and Nursery, ML5 2PG
How engaged were the students with the safety video presentation from Network Rail?
Very engaged
Do you think they now know more about the dangers of the railway than before the start of the session?
Did they mention anything new they learned?
Yes, lots more about being safe, the signs and what kind of things could happen if they’re not
switched on!
Did your students have any questions or comments about the videos? If so, what were they saying?
Mostly about the job rail workers do and the stories of the children who have been hurt through
being unsafe on or near the railways.
What other information would you like us to include in the Network Rail presentation about rail safety or
the railways in general that would be of interest to your students?
No it was all great
Why should schools watch the Rail Safe Friendly programmes?
Safety!
Rail 74 CRP Feedback 24/25
Logans Primary School, ML1 3PH
How engaged were the students with the safety video presentation from Network Rail?
Very engaged
Do you think they now know more about the dangers of the railway than before the start of the session?
Did they mention anything new they learned?
I think the story of Harrison gripped them.
Did your students have any questions or comments about the videos? If so, what were they saying?
I think they were keen to share things that they had seen, since we have a level crossing nearby.
What other information would you like us to include in the Network Rail presentation about rail safety or
the railways in general that would be of interest to your students?
Safety on the platform, especially for younger pupils.
Why should schools watch the Rail Safe Friendly programmes?
Videos are informative and make clear the dangers of a railway line.