“Ultimately, we want to make the railway safe for everybody.”

In support of Railway Children’s Day of Action, Natalie Richbell-Beer, Safeguarding and Crime Manager at Avanti West Coast, talks about the importance of raising awareness around vulnerable young people travelling on the railway, to help those at risk of harm stay safe.

This is the second year that we have had the pleasure of teaming up with rail industry partners to support Railway Children’s recent Day of Action. The day is a chance for us to engage with the public and highlight a real issue that customers passing through stations and travelling on the network potentially aren’t aware of.

In addition to the safeguarding work happening within the industry, our customers can help support us in recognising a situation that doesn’t look right. To do that though, we need to equip them with the knowledge of what to look out for and how to report a potentially harmful situation in the most helpful way.

This is one of the crucial topics that we discussed with those travelling on trains and at stations as part of the event. It started with a pop-up at Glasgow Central station, where we engaged with commuters and those going out for the day. We then travelled to London Euston, discussing the Railway Children’s message with customers onboard and at stations along the West Coast Main Line – including Preston, Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street.

“That gut instinct could be the missing piece of a puzzle that ensures a young person or any vulnerable person on the network is kept safe.”

The journey from Glasgow to London via the Midlands is approximately 400 miles and we used this route to further highlight just how easy it is for a vulnerable young person to travel from one end of the United Kingdom to the other so quickly.

Helping those who appear to be in a potentially damaging situation is much easier than it may seem and ultimately, we want to make the railway safe for everybody. If customers send the British Transport Police a text message via 61016 at any point in their journey, a risk has been highlighted that can then start a chain of care for that individual. That gut instinct could be the missing piece of the puzzle that ensures a young person or any vulnerable person on the network is kept safe.

Collaboration with the wider industry is vital in getting that point across to customers. As part of the event, we joined forces with the British Transport Police as well as other train operators on our route, including TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.

The message behind the day of action is so important, because around 10,000 vulnerable young people are found on the rail network each year – which is an alarming statistic. The key factor is to not ignore that gut instinct. We need to make sure we are passing the message on via 61016 to help those in need.

Pictures: 

Main image - Natalie is joined by representatives from British Transport Police, Railway Children and Network Rail at Glasgow Central for the Day of Action event. 

First image in text - Natalie and Joe Clay, Railway Children, engaging with customers and handing out leaflets on the concourse at Glasgow Central station for the Day of Action event. 

Second image in text - Natalie and Joe Clay, Railway Children, show the 200 Seconds to Safety board to a young person at Glasgow Central station, helping them to spot the potentially harmful situations.

Bottom image in text - representatives from British Transport Police, Railway Children, Network Rail and Avanti West Coast at Glasgow Central for the Day of Action event.