NorthernArt is a new community initiative from Northern Rail that aims to divert young people from anti-social behaviour such as graffiti into art-based activities that will benefit themselves and their local community.

NorthernArt encourages young people to send their 2D artwork to www.northernartzone.net where it will be showcased in an online gallery for all to see.

Northern Rail is pioneering the use of the artwork on posters, corporate literature and eventually the exterior of trains.

Other organisations and companies will also have the opportunity to access the artwork for use on publicity materials as long as they credit the artist with their work.

As part of the NorthernArt initiative, Northern Rail unveiled a giant work of art – The NorthernArt Big Picture at the National Railway Museum in York.

The Big Picture measures 4.5 by 6.6 metres and is made up of 345 individual pieces of artwork, which when viewed from afar, form one large image depicting scenes from across Northern Rail’s network.

The artwork was produced by students at primary and secondary schools in the North of England and some of them were on hand at the unveiling. The Big Picture will form part of a growing display in the Great Hall at the National Railway Museum, York for a period of 12 months and will potentially be seen by some 750,000 visitors.

‘THE HUMOUR’ SCOOPS FIRST PLACE IN NORTHERNTRAX COMPETITION (01/06/06)

Leading professionals from the music industry selected Wakefield – based ‘The Humour’ as the winners of the NorthernTraX 'Make it Big' music competition, the latest safety initiative piloted by train operator Northern Rail on behalf of the Rail Safety and Standards Board.

Backed by global music giants EMI, the initiative aims to reduce deaths and serious injury amongst young people on the country’s railway tracks, by encouraging youngsters to create and listen to music in their spare time instead of playing on the railways.

Winning the competition moves ‘The Humour’ one step closer to fame following in the footsteps of Corinne Bailey Rae, the Zutons and the Kaiser Chiefs. As part of their prize, the four-piece band from Wakefield travelled to Liverpool’s Elevator Studios to have their music professionally recorded and engineered.

After the recording session, a limousine whisked them off to one of Liverpool’s leading restaurants, Pan American, for a celebratory dinner, before delivering the would-be rock stars to the city’s hip Hope Street Hotel for a well-earned night’s sleep.

Bob Miller, producer of Corinne Bailey Rae's number one selling album said: “This is a young exciting band who, with the aid of NorthernTraX, has had the opportunity to work with top professionals from the music industry. Hopefully we will be working with them in the future - and as long as they listen to advice along the way, there is no reason why they cannot make it in the industry."

The Humour will spend the next few months rehearsing hard before performing in front of a crowd of 9,000 at the final of the Northern Rail Cup in Blackpool on 16 July. And on 2 September the budding stars will find themselves headlining Breeze in Millennium Square, playing in front of a crowd of 7,000 music fans.

A CD of their winning track as well as the nine other best entries to NorthernTraX will be distributed at the event.

Heidi Mottram, Managing Director of Northern said: “NorthernTraX has uncovered some fabulous untapped talent amongst the region’s young people.

“The Humour were worthy winners and hopefully we are seeing the beginning of another great band. We will definitely be keeping one eye on them to see how their career develops!

“NorthernTraX has already proved itself to be incredibly popular amongst youngsters in the region, and Northern will be developing similar programmes as part of its ongoing work within schools and local communities to discourage young people from crime and anti-social behaviour on the railways.”

‘The Humour’ and the other top bands from the NorthernTraX competition now go forward to compete in a national ‘Make it Big’ competition, details of which can be found on the MusicTraX website (www.musictrax.org).

A pioneering safety day held at St. Mary’s Catholic High School, Longbenton, Newcastle, has been hailed as a success by those who took part.

School pupils teamed up with the police, Network Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro to hammer home the message of railway safety.

Forty Year 9 pupils attended the event, which was run by the Partners Against Railway Crime. Led by Nexus, representatives from the British Transport Police, Network Rail and the Metro Police Unit also took part.

The children spent the day in a series of role-playing, practical and theoretical exercises under expert supervision. All of the exercises contained strong messages about the need for safety on the railway.

St Mary's is within a stone's throw of Longbenton Metro Station and the event organisers saw it as an ideal location to pilot the safety day. Hailed as a success by all those who took part, the model will now be rolled out to other schools across the region and beyond.

Ali Tombling, Schools and Community Liaison Officer from Nexus, said: "It is vital that we educate youngsters on the importance of railway safety and how to act responsibly whilst using public transport.

" By working with different areas of the community we really can help to save lives."

The children spent the day learning the importance of Metro safety through a variety of activities. They watched CCTV footage and held a mock press conference. They were split into groups and each given their own media projects to work on. Tasks included producing a newspaper supplement to promote safety awareness, designing a new logo and poster campaign for the Metro and producing a radio campaign to highlight the potential dangers of the Metro.

Andy Lee, Head of Media and Public Relations for Nexus, chaired a press conference as part of proceedings.

He said: "I was extremely impressed by the effort, dedication and level of knowledge shown by the children. They were all keen to take part and seemed to really enjoy themselves. If they’ve taken some of the key messages with them that can only be a bonus."

All those involved at St. Mary’s School agreed that the safety day was extremely successful and are keen to hold the event again next year. The event will now be rolled out around schools in Tyne and Wear

Children from Ty Cegin Out of School club in Bangor have been given the opportunity to learn about railway safety courtesy of local rail company Arriva Trains Wales/ Trenau Arriva Cymru and the British Transport Police BTP.

The 30 children, aged four to 11 years old, contacted the train company requesting a train ride and an opportunity to learn about railway safety.

During the journey from Bangor to Holyhead on Friday 8 April, the children were given an opportunity to learn about railway safety and the dangers of playing on the railway from PC Dave Tucker of the British Transport Police, who is based in Bangor. Station manager for North Wales Gerald Jones also give a talk, explaining the tasks involved with the day-to-day running of the railway.

Project manager Lesley Austen from Ty Cegin, said: “Our centre is located near the main North Wales coast railway line and it is important for the children to be aware of the dangers of playing on the railway.”

She continued: “The children that attend the club live on Maesgeirchen Estate, one of the most social and economically deprived areas in North Wales. The railway tracks border two of the streets in the estate, so this opportunity give them a greater awareness of potential dangers posed by trains and also act as a preventative measure in the reduction of trespass and vandalism.

“For some of the children, this was their first journey on a train and was an important step in enhancing the pupils’ learning. It also helped them to understand how the station works whilst raising their awareness of personal safety on the railway.”

Gerald Jones, station manager for Arriva Trains Wales in Llandudno, said: “We were only too pleased to help the school with their request. It was great to see the children taking a real interest in the day-to-day running of the railway and enjoying the beautiful scenery that can be seen from the train across the Island of Anglesey.”

Children from Manselton Primary School in Swansea were given the opportunity to learn about railway safety courtesy of local rail company Arriva Trains Wales and the British Transport Police (BTP).

The 60 children, aged seven and eight, were carrying out a geography project in school focusing on different modes of transport. They originally wrote to the train company asking for a tour of Swansea Railway Station but as an added bonus, received a free ride from Swansea to Carmarthen and back.

During the journey, the children were given an opportunity to learn about railway safety and the dangers of playing on the railway from PC Jaci Thomas, route crime officer with the BTP. Trains manager Nigel Morgan from Carmarthen also gave them a talk, explaining the duties and responsibilities of the driver and guard on the train. The children also received an educational pack promoting railway safety.

Teacher Mrs Judith Rees, said: “For many of the children, this was their first journey on a train and was important step in enhancing the pupils’ learning. It helped them to understand how the station works whilst raising their awareness of personal safety on the railway.”

Julian Viggers, station manager for Arriva Trains Wales in Swansea, said: “We were only too pleased to help the school with their request. It was great to see the children taking a real interest in the day-to-day running of the station and enjoying the beautiful scenery that can be seen from the train between Swansea and Carmarthen.”

RAIL STAFF ASSAULTS CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

Rail companies and organisations are joining forces to protect their staff from assault, threats and abuse.

A nationwide campaign was launched on November 30 2004 to coincide with the Christmas festive season which traditionally sees an upsurge in the number of rail staff falling victim to verbal abuse, threats or physical violence. Many of the incidents are drink related.

The year-long campaign, organised by the cross-industry Rail Personal Security Group, features a series of eye-catching and thought-provoking posters for use across the rail network.

In line with other UK industries, violence at work has been recognised as an issue of growing concern for the rail industry, with efforts being focused on taking the necessary steps to protect staff.

Every day an average of six staff are physically assaulted in the course of their duties. In 2003, reported assaults increased for the third successive year to more than 3,500, an increase of 18 per cent. More than 1,500 assaults were on board trains, a 37 per cent increase on 2002. The industry employs almost 23,000 on-train and station staff and over one billion passenger journeys were made on the National Rail network in 2003.

Assaults related to fare evasion increased by 27 per cent in 2003 and accounts for about one third of all assaults. But while this area remains a major conflict point – and one where there is a greater risk of physical assault – most of the recorded increase in 2003 was for verbal assaults occurring on trains.

Most assaults happen during the evening peak and later at night, corresponding to when passenger frustration and alcohol levels are likely to be greatest. Female staff are more likely to be victims of non-physical assault than men. The proportion of physical assaults actually reduced in 2003 for men, but not for women. This demonstrates a worrying trend although sexual assaults on female staff are small in number.

At the launch at Waterloo Station Keith Ludeman, Chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: “We will not tolerate verbal or physical attacks against rail staff and those who become a victim for simply doing their job will be given our total support in any prosecution.

As one of the Partners Against Railway Crime, Network Rail carries out a dedicated educational programme in schools and communities to raise awareness about the dangers of railway crime. The “Football in the Community” scheme is an alternative way of putting the message across. The company supports football schools, which help entertain children in the school holidays when they can get bored and tempted to play on the railway.

Alex Pilling, Network Rail’s External Liaison Officer in the North West, said: “We are happy to support the Football in the Community Programme. We find that children respond very well to the coaches’ presentations on railway safety, and they go away with a clear understanding of why messing around on the tracks is so dangerous.”

Continuing the football theme, more than 30 young footballers from the Walsden and Todmorden areas have been ‘kicked off’ by Network Rail – but it was all in a good cause.

The company has sponsored the Slade Youth Group’s team football strip, footballs, goalposts and nets. Alex Pilling contacted the group because they play football directly behind the railway line running through Todmorden.

Alex said: “We had previously had reports of local teenagers messing around on the tracks and daring each other to run between the platforms in front of trains, so I contacted various schools and organisations in the area. The Slade Youth Group took up my offer to come and talk to them about safety on the railway after the official opening of their new premises.”

Posters emphasising the dangers of railway crime will appear on trains and at stations across Wales.

The initiative is part of a campaign launched to highlight the dangers of playing and trespassing on the railway line.

The ‘get a life, don’t lose it’ campaign has been launched as part of the National Route Crime Initiative supported by the British Transport Police, Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail. Children from the Children's Play Services of Cardiff Council have also joined forces with the British Transport Police and Arriva Trains Wales as part of a pilot project to discuss the consequences of playing on the railway and to encourage a positive understanding of rail safety.

Rail industry partners reinforced the message: “Keep off the tracks” during National Railway Crime Week. The week also coincided with National Child Safety Week and provided an opportunity for schools to assist in ramming home the message in the run up to the school summer holidays.

One of the highlights of the week was the national launch of a short film for secondary schools made by the friends of a 15 year old boy who was killed while playing on the railway.

Network Rail has announced the winner of the Layton Neighbourhood Watch poster competition. The competition, sponsored by Network Rail, was aimed at highlighting the dangers of playing on or near the railway and an 11 year old boy, a pupil of Layton primary school, Blackpool, designed the winning poster.

His creative efforts have been transformed into posters now on display at various stations along the Fylde Coast. His poster also features on the educational www.trackoff.org website which provides free railway safety material for schools and has recently been accredited by the National Grid for Learning.

The train is sponsored by Network Rail, British Transport Police, WAGN, Health and Safety Executive and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. It will be on the network for the next 12 months and will run to Chingford, Enfield Town and Hertford East.

Dr Howells said: "Railway crime is an extremely serious problem for the whole country, endangering life and limb and costing the nation millions of pounds. I was pleased to see this imaginative joint effort to make people aware of just how urgent is the need to stamp out this crime and to identify and punish the perpetrators"

PC Bob Kelsey, British Transport Police said: “Every day I detain youths across the West Anglia route who break the law by taking short cuts and throwing items at trains. Only recently a brick was thrown through a Stansted Express cab window at Enfield Lock, injuring the driver. This incident could have been fatal. We need to get the message across that this behaviour is just not acceptable and the public should report it and not ignore it.”