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.
