OREANDA-NEWS. June 22, 2015. Union Pacific Railroad today launched a new social media campaign urging photographers and high school seniors to refrain from taking photographs on or near train tracks. Through startling videos, the campaign compares the dangers of snapping photos on the tracks to posing for senior pictures on a busy highway. Neither are safe locations. The campaign launched exclusively on social media channels Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), more than 500 people in the United States were killed in 2014 while walking or standing on railroad property, which is trespassing according to federal law.

"Union Pacific launched this campaign to combat the alarming and growing trend of photographers staging high school senior photo shoots on train tracks," said Bob Turner, Union Pacific senior vice president - Corporate Relations. "Union Pacific trains operate in more than 7,300 U.S. communities, and this campaign encourages photographers and high school seniors to embrace the safety benefits of shooting senior photos a safe distance from train tracks."

Union Pacific invites photographers and the class of 2016 to spread their creativity by sharing the Senior Photo Safety videos available at www.up.com/PhotoSafety with the hashtag #TracksAreForTrains. Photographers and the class of 2016 can share their senior photos taken in creative locations using the hashtag #SafeSeniorPhoto.