29.07.16
Is Pokemon Go a rail safety risk?
For the past month, Pokemon Go mania has swept around the world. It’s impossible to go out at the moment without spotting people walking around staring at their phones – not to send texts, but to catch animated creatures in the popular game.
However, Network Rail has warned that the game could provide a dangerous distraction to players near railways.
The infrastructure owner has had to put up warnings on signs at Birmingham New Street after players allegedly walked onto the tracks to catch Pokemon, and warned that the game has not been planned with due concern for the risks of railways.
Lisbeth Fromling, chief health and safety officer at Network Rail, said: “We do have safety concerns around the locations of certain PokeGyms and PokeStops which we believe are too close to the working railway.
“We are concerned that by playing the game on or very close to our infrastructure, young people are likely to be distracted and even less aware than usual of the risks around them.
“We are in the process of making contact with the app developers and with Nintendo to share our concerns in the hope that we can work together to make the app safer.”
This year’s craze for the app adds a new level to Network Rail’s safety concerns about summer.
Trespass reports last year reached almost 600 in August, compared to 300 in December.
Network Rail has launched a campaign urging parents to warn their children not to play on tracks during the summer holidays.
Britain’s rail networks have never been safer for members of the public, the workforce, or level crossing users, but the Pokemon Go concerns are a reminder that new risks are developing all the time.
If you’re playing Pokemon Go this summer, have a good time – but just remember to steer clear of the railways.
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