Play trespassing train

You’ll need

Torch

Before you begin

Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

Planning and setting up this activity

This game will work best indoors where you can turn off some, but not all, of the lights. You could also play it outside at dusk.
As lots of people are afraid or unsure of being in the dark, we suggest making sure you can see the torch, without it being too dark for everyone to be safe.
Remind everyone to shine the torch only at or below shoulder height, and away from anyone’s eyes.

Running this activity

Gather everyone together and ask if anyone knows what trespassing is.
Ask what people think about trespassing and if it’s okay. Explain that trespassing is never okay. It causes delays for those on the train but is extremely dangerous for those doing the trespassing, often resulting in serious injuries or death.
Explain that you’re going to play a game that’s all about trespassing on the railway lines. The game will show us just how hard trespassing is and how the train will always win in the end. Trains are silent until it is too late. You never know when a train might be coming or from which direction it might be coming from.
Ask everyone to make a circle.
Choose one person to be the train. They will stand in the middle of the circle with a torch.
When the person running the activity shouts ‘Go!’, everyone in the circle will start moving in a clockwise direction around the person in the middle.
The person in the middle can either stay still or they can also turn around in a circle. The torch should be pointing directly at the ground and, if they feel comfortable to, they can close their eyes or wear a blindfold.
As everyone’s moving in a circle, the person in the middle will shout ‘freeze’ at any moment they choose and lift the torch up.
Anyone who is in the light of the torch is out and should carefully step out of the circle.
Keep playing until there’s only a few players left, then let someone else be the train in the middle.

Reflection

This activity was all about railway safety and trespassing along the train tracks. Remind everyone that railway stations and railway lines can be a very dangerous place if we’re not careful, but if you’re sensible and cautious, you’ll keep yourself safe. Every year people are killed while trespassing on the railway. We must never step onto the tracks. Lines may be electrified, and trains can approach at speed.   What did you learn about train safety through this game? Does anyone know ways we can keep safe at a railway station and near railway lines?  Did this game change how you thought about trespassing and its dangers?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.