Students and Pupils
There are over 10,000
traffic jams in Britain every week, and many of them are caused by
parents taking their children to school in the car. These traffic
jams not only make you late for school, but are also really bad for
the environment. In an effort to tackle the problem, the Government
is spending a lot of time and money on encouraging kids to walk,
cycle, and use buses or trains to get to school. You may have even
noticed this at your school, with bike stands and better road
crossings being built to help.
We are happy to say that we are also doing our bit as well, and we
hope to encourage more kids to use our trains to get to school. If
you think that you could use the train to get to school, then why
not do it? The stuff below can help you to do this.
Safety Stuff
Trains are a
very safe way to travel, in fact it is one of the safest ways to
get around. But there are a few things that you need to know about
using trains safely before you hop on board:
Ask for permission first. The most important thing is that
before you use the train, ask your parents for permission first.
You should never use the train
without their consent!
Tell your parents where you are going. Whenever you use the
train, let your parents know where you are going.
Travel in a group if you can. Your parents don't say 'safety
in numbers' for no reason!
Don't muck about on trains or at stations. You could fall
off the platform or out of the train, which will mean a trip to
hospital, or possibly worse.
Stand back from the edge of the platform. Passing trains can
be surprisingly quick, and can easily knock you off your feet.
Always stand behind the yellow line.
Never walk onto the tracks, apart from at level crossings.
Not only is it against the law, but it is very dangerous. Trains
are quiet, and are faster than you think, and will not stop in time
if they see you. You should also never run across a level crossing
when the lights are flashing and the barriers are down.
The Practical Stuff
If you have never used
a train before, then ask your mum or dad to travel with you for the
first week, so that you get used to the journey. When travelling on
the train, remember the following:
Take a timetable with you. Timetables show what times the
train leaves your station, and you can download a timetable by
following the below link. If you have never read a timetable
before, ask your parents to teach you how.
Bring your ticket with you. Your parents should give you a
ticket, or the money to buy a ticket from the train’s
conductor, who sells tickets on the train. It is against the law to
travel on trains without a ticket, so it is really important that
you have one! Whenever the conductor asks for your ticket, you must
show it to them
Know what platform you need. Many of our train stations have
more than one platform, and it is very important that you know
which one your train arrives at, otherwise you could miss it!
If you are between 16 and 25 years old, you can also get a Young
Persons Railcard, which will give you a third off many train fares
no just on the Marston Vale Line, but elsewhere as well. See the
railcards and other discounts page.
Timetable (PDF,
135kb)
Printer
friendly version of this page
E-mail this page to a friend