Video: Ground-breaking £2.7m training centre to increase safety for rail workers

Credit: Network Rail

The first purpose-built rail safety centre of its kind in the North of England, has been officially opened by the Minister for Rail Huw Merriman in Huddersfield, as part of the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU).

Everyone working on the major rail upgrade between Manchester and York will undertake a one-day interactive training programme, which uses actors to place participants at the heart of a hard-hitting narrative, witnessing the actions, decisions and events which could lead to a fatal incident on the rail tracks.

Attendees at the TRUST centre participate in a series of interactive, facilitated workshops and engage with the characters in real-world scenarios, including in their home, a police interview and work canteen, learning the communications skills they can put into practice to improve safety in the workplace. They are then encouraged to apply these as they are transported back into the story.

Training at the TRUST centre will appeal to all three sensory learning styles: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. High-quality production values and industry-leading technology deliver a powerful, immersive experience shown to strengthen learning, memory and positively impact on subsequent behaviour.

“The opening of the ground-breaking TRUST centre embodies the ethos that safety sits at the heart of the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade,” Neil Holm, Managing Director of Transpennine Route Upgrade, said. “We want to ensure that everybody gets home safe every day. As we work to bring cleaner, faster and better journeys between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York, the safety of our teams has never been more important. TRUST centre training will be undertaken by everyone working on our programme, both working in offices and on the frontline. It’s important that colleagues from planning, design, delivery and all of our functions understand how the decisions we all make are crucial when it comes to safety. Taking an immersive approach allows workers to absorb and remember their training more clearly and for longer.”