HUNDREDS of schoolchildren will gather at the National Railway Museum, in York, today to learn about the dangers of trespassing on rail tracks.

The aim is to cut tresspass and vandalism which costs the industry more than £150m a year. The majority of such crime more than 90 per cent - is committed by teenagers.

Year five pupils from York and Doncaster will hear from British Transport Police officers and train drivers who have first-hand experience of deaths and injuries caused by accidents on the railway.

Tony Walton, regional operations and safety manager at Network Rail, said: "Any act of crime on the railway has the potential to lead to loss of life, so education is a vital part of the rail industry's efforts to tackle route crime."