Network Rail is using virtual reality to teach young people in Wales and the Borders about staying safe on the railway and the dangers of trespassing.

Over 2,000 school children have already experienced the technology, which showed them the risks and consequences of unsafe behaviour around the railway, but in a safe and controlled environment.

Since the programme started in September 2025, it has been delivered to 22 schools. The technology places students in a realistic situation where two friends near the railway are distracted and are momentarily unaware of an approaching train.

The use of virtual reality highlights the importance of safety messages that can never be emphasised in the same way by traditional classroom teaching. During a recent visit to Dinas Powys Primary School in the Vale of Glamorgan, the children’s reactions showed the benefits, such as:

• “It was kind of scary in the VR, but I can’t imagine what it would be like in real life, so I know I’m definitely not going to go on the tracks.”
• “It took me by surprise because it was really quiet, but then you turn around, and the train beeps, going at 125 miles per hour, and then in a second it’s on top of you – that was frightening.”
• “It’s a really good representation of why people shouldn’t cross over them [tracks] for reasons like death.”

Trespassing on the railway is a serious problem, and in the year to March there were 927 incidents recorded across the Wales and Borders route, with 13% of them involving young people under the age of 18.

In 2023, Transport for Wales held an exhibition in Cardiff that highlighted the dangers of trespassing on railway tracks and the danger from electrified overhead line equipment.

It isn’t only the risks to people’s lives that are the problem, it is the delays they cause. In one incident last year at Hendon in North London, a trespass incident cost Network Rail over £500,000 in delay minutes.

”Keeping people safe on and around the railway is our top priority, and education plays a vital role in preventing incidents before they happen. These VR sessions allow young people to see the dangers of the railway from a completely different perspective. By experiencing these scenarios in a safe environment, we hope to leave a lasting impression that helps them make safer decisions. We’re proud to be working with schools across Wales and Borders to deliver these important messages and help keep our communities safe.”

Alison Barker, Community Safety Manager at Network Rail Wales and Borders