- Minister for Public Transport
A new safety campaign is urging parents and carers to take extra care when taking the train to the 2019 Royal Melbourne Show.
The Look out for the little ones campaign is highlighting the risks to children at railway station entries, exits and platforms, by using the perspective of a child.
The campaign focuses on the risks of children being caught in myki barriers, and the potential for prams to roll off platforms onto train tracks.
In the last two years, nearly 100 safety incidents involving prams have been recorded at train stations, including prams rolling onto tracks. The number of incidents increases around major events like the Royal Melbourne Show.
Hotspots for incidents involving children include Flinders Street, Southern Cross, West Richmond, Richmond, Toorak, Caulfield, Newport and Flagstaff stations.
Posters will be up at some of Melbourne’s busiest stations including City Loop stations, Showgrounds Station and other key stations during the 11 days of the Royal Melbourne Show.
There will also be digital notifications sent to mobile phones, and radio advertisements voiced by children on the importance of keeping safe.
Child safety is a key focus for Metro following a number of incidents reported across the metropolitan network.
The campaign calls on parents and carers to take children through the wide myki gates – while parents with prams are being encouraged to turn, brake and hold their prams on the platform.
More than 1,300 extra services will run to ensure passengers travel safely to the Showgrounds. In 2018, more than 130,000 people caught the train to and from Show.
As noted by Minister for Public Transport Melissa Horne
“The Royal Melbourne Show is an institution for Victorian families and with tens-of-thousands catching the train, we’re asking parents and carers to take extra care to keep their children safe.”
“The rail network can be an intimidating place for children – this campaign is all about reinforcing positive messages to keep them safe.”
As noted by Metro Trains Chief Executive Officer Raymond O’Flaherty
“Every safety incident on our network is preventable, particularly those that involve young children who are some of our most vulnerable passengers.”
“We really encourage all passengers to keep an eye and an ear out for this campaign when travelling to the Show, and help make every journey with Metro a safe one.”
