An
up-and-coming Brisbane rapper has been enlisted to help warn young people about
the potentially life-threatening consequences of trespassing on the Queensland
Rail network.
CEO Nick Easy
said as part of Rail Safety Week (10-16 August), Goodna-based rapper Lisi was
helping to launch the second phase of Queensland Rail’s successful High Voltage
Can Jump campaign.
Mr Easy said
the campaign was aimed at preventing serious incidents on the network involving
high voltage overhead power lines, with the message targeted primarily at young
males aged 15 to 24 years.
“The campaign
serves as an important reminder that overhead power lines on the rail network
carry more than a hundred times the local supply in your home,” he said.
“The voltage is
so high that you do not even have to come into direct contact with overhead
lines to suffer life-changing injuries from an electric shock, or worse, death
from electrocution.”
Lisi, who has
featured on Triple J and often clocks more than a million views on his music
videos on YouTube, said he was “100 per cent” in support of the important
campaign.
“The overhead
lines carry 25,000 volts, which is powerful enough to jump out at you,” Lisi
said.
“Guys around my
age have been seriously injured by getting too close and I don’t want to see
that happen to the people I care about.
“Make good
choices, stay clear of the wires and train tracks, and look out for your
mates.”
Mr Easy said as
part of the campaign, Lisi and Queensland Rail would share a video to social
media of the rapper performing his new song Hard Yakka in front of a
High Voltage Can Jump mural at Loganlea station painted by locally renowned
urban artist Jordache Castillejos.
“Lisi fans will
also get the chance to win a pair of signed sneakers to the value of $250 and
might even spot him in their classroom when he joins Queensland Rail’s
Community Partnerships team at school visits across the south east,” he said.
Mr Easy said
Queensland Rail had seen significant positive results from the first phase of
the campaign, which ran from August 2019 to March 2020.
“In 2019, we
saw a 21 per cent decline in the number of people charged with trespassing on
the railway compared to the previous year,” he said.
“More
importantly, Queensland Rail recorded no high voltage incidents during the
campaign period.”
More
information about Queensland Rail’s High Voltage Can Jump campaign can be foundhere.
