Industry-leading safety training centre hits 10,000 visitors

The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) TRUST centre, the first purpose-built rail safety centre of its kind in the North of England, has now surpassed 10,000 visitors.

Launched in Huddersfield in 2023, the facility enables rail workers to experience real life safety-critical scenarios in a safe environment that offers a platform for discussion and an opportunity for incidents to be analysed.

The innovative approach was brought to life in partnership with Active Training Team (ATT), where actors deliver an accurate representation of events that could lead to dangerous incidents on the railway when work is being carried out. From life at home to operating machinery, every base is covered.

Adam Christopher, Active Training Team Director, said:

“The training that we’re involved in is exploring attitude and behaviour and an actor’s job is to replicate attitudes and behaviours in a believable way on stage and screen. So in many regards, who better to bring that into a training environment?

“You start with a story, something concrete, and you make the behaviours in there recognisable, but you also make them emotional because that’s going to resonate with people – spark the neurons in your mind that aid memory retention – the language, the emotion, all your senses are going to be triggered and that aids memory retention, then the workshops that follow the story equip people with the confidence to challenge effectively and accept challenge graciously.”

All TRU employees undertake a one-day interactive training programme at the TRUST centre, and 10,000 visitors later, safety remains at the heart of all operations as work ramps up across the route.

Craig Perry, TRU Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, said:

“With the programme now firmly in the delivery phase and a multitude of engineering work being undertaken across the entire 70-mile route, safety is embedded in everything we do. This is a great milestone for the programme, with over 10,000 people now more aware of the dangers our work may carry thanks to this approach.

“The TRUST centre is a remarkable facility that has provided our teams with an interactive experience in safety training, with TRU ‘Safety First’ principles at the forefront. Thank you to everyone who has made such an important facet of the programme so successful and to all participants who engage in the day.”