This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Campaign to improve rail safety in Aberdeen
20/06/2003
A joint effort to tackle vandalism and trespassing on the
North East's train tracks was welcomed today by Transport
Minister Nicol Stephen.
The Minister was speaking as he attended Network Rail's
Route Crime Awareness campaign launch at Aberdeen railway
station. The campaign is targeted in the run up to the school
holidays when incidents of crime on rail tracks usually
increase.
Kittybrewster, Berryden, Mugiemoss and the Dee Viaduct are
particular problem areas across Aberdeen. Incidents include
damage to fencing, trespassing onto railways and, most
dangerous of all, dropping objects from bridges onto lines.
Mr Stephen said:
"There were 117 trespassing incidents and 40 acts of
vandalism recorded in the Aberdeen area last year. This is
simply unacceptable not only because of the disruption to
services, but also the very real risks to the lives of
passengers and staff..
"Railway crime costs £10 million per year in Scotland. This
diverts money away from investing in the safe, efficient,
transport network rail users deserve.
"The Scottish Executive supports our colleagues in Network
Rail and the British Transport Police in tackling this problem
and promoting safety on our rail network."
Network Rail indicate that around 100,000 minutes are lost
due to delays resulting from rail crime in Scotland.
National Route Crime Week runs from 16 June to 22 June. It
is part of Backtrack - the rail industry's (led by Network
Rail) ongoing campaign against Route Crime.
The British Transport Police produce National Route Crime
Statistics. Across Scotland in 2002 there were 1302 recorded
acts of vandalism and 1897 of trespassing.
Rail safety and security are reserved matters under Schedule
5 of the Scotland Act 1998.