CLASSICAL music is to be played at Warrington’s Birchwood railway station – to deter anti-social behaviour.
Trials carried out by train operator Northern at nine stations across the region has shown that music inspired by Handel, Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky has led to a significant reduction in littering, graffiti and vandalism-related incidents.
Now Birchwood is one of 23 targeted stations to be selected to expand the scheme.
Music will only be played at certain times of the day, which will vary from station to station to have the best impact on behaviour.
Mark Powles, customer and commercial director, at Northern, said: “Anti-social behaviour is a nuisance in its lightest form and nothing short of a criminal act at its worst. Unfortunately, railway stations – like many other public areas – can attract this sort of mindless behaviour – which is unfair and unsettling to our customers.
“The classical music trials proved very interesting – and the results speak for themselves. We’ll now begin work on a roll-out programme across 23 targeted stations to spread that success far and wide.”
Anyone can report anti-social behaviour on the rail network by contacting British Transport Police via text message on 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40.
Northern is the second largest train operator in the country, with nearly 2,000 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.
