READING station is playing host to a family fun day encouraging the use of public transport and explaining train safety today, Thursday, February 15.
The Reading Basingstoke Community Rail Partnership is once again teaming up with Network Rail, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, Reading Buses, South East Community Rail Partnership, British Transport Police, and Brighter Futures for Children.
Families were invited to take part in a number of activities promoting rail safety and familiarising young people with stations, train travel, and public transport.
British Transport Police set up a model railway to help children identify the dangers which had been depicted on it.
There was also a coding and colouring game, where attendees could colour in patches on a printed rail line, which would then be navigated by a small toy robot, designed to help children learn about signalling through play.
Attendees could also take part in quizzes, item hunts, train spotting activities, and games which featured rail safety and accessibility tips.
Will Robertson from Network Rail said at the event: “We work closely with the community rail partnerships to bring events like this about, where we can do something to promote rail safety and engage with our local communities.
“We’re encouraging people to come along and have a bit of fun, with a message behind it about safety.
“We want to promote safe use of stations in a fun and engaging way, and likewise with BTP here to highlight and promote safe behaviour.”
Haley from Network Rail said: “We work in the engagement team, going out to schools to talk about careers and rail.
“This game gives kids a chance to take part in some basic coding to give them an idea about how certain skills link into the industry.
“When they’ve got something to do, kids really engage and puts that knowledge into context and helps them to understand as well as have fun.
“When you integrate that with something fun, they learn more about how to interact with the railway in real life.”
Kath, education officer at South East Community Rail, said: “We’re here to help people get used to the station through our quiz activities.
“There’s a treasure hunt with clues around the station, with a prize of an Arlo’s Adventure book for those who complete it.
“We’ve also included a train spotting quiz, and an I-Spy for the younger attendees; it’s all about safety and familiarisation.”
She explained: “The safety briefing is of course the main thing, so we do make sure they’re familiar with the yellow line, for example, and the dangers of electricity.
“But we also want them to be able to have fun; it should be accessible, and there are people they can talk to who can help if they need it.
“One of my jobs also involves going into schools and colleges, talking about the importance of using public transport.
“Trains are a great green way of travelling and economical, so we run a number of different programs explaining the importance of rail travel, and it’s really important to reach out to those who might be worried about using the trains.”
Fiona Morton, CEO at the Southeast Community Rail Partnership, said: “It’s a great opportunity to involve young people in the railways; we want to develop active travel habits and rail is one of the most effective green travel options.
“It’s accessible to most people, and while it’s not without its problems, we’re always working on those.
“We’ve had some young people taking part in virtual train driving, learning new skills, and having a great time.
She continued: “There’s so much opportunity for kids to take part in this kind of event; we run education programmes which see about 8,000 kids a year, as well as working with adults with learning difficulties.
“It’s warming to see people take part; rail does the happy times and the sad times, and Reading is a really brilliant town for rail travel
“Also it’s worth looking out for all of the offers available when travelling with children: often kids can travel for free, with discounts for family tickets and group tickets.”
Lucy Lomax of the Reading Basingstoke Community Rail Partnership said: “It’s lovely to have so many people come along, and it’s great to see the partnerships all collaborating.
“This event is the first of its kind, but I hope we’ll see more events like this; it’s free and during half term, so we hope we can make the rail safer and encourage more people to use it.”
