Women’s safety at train stations under scrutiny

Women’s safety at train stations in the UK remains uneven, with many locations still lacking visible safety measures such as staff presence, lighting, emergency help points and clear passenger information.

An investigation by Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland⁠ found that more than half of the stations in Great Britain included in its review did not have visible safety measures in place. The organization works to support the rights of women and girls.

The findings point to continuing problems across the British rail network, particularly at stations used in the evening or operating without staff.

The investigation says women are affected more sharply by these gaps, especially when travelling alone after dark or passing through stations where there is little visible human presence.

Initial results show that 55% of the stations reviewed had no visible security presence. Only one in 10 stations had staff on site for the full period when passengers were present, while 48% had no visibly uniformed staff at the time they were assessed.

Parking areas were also identified as a concern. In 48% of cases, station car parks were judged to be poorly lit, isolated, or without designated safe spaces.

Visible safety measures remain uneven

Gillie O’Rourke, president of SIGBI, said measures that could improve women’s sense of safety are still not being applied consistently across the railway.

“These key measures, which can help women feel safer, remain inconsistent, fragmented, and, at best, haphazard. This leaves women increasingly vulnerable when traveling by train,”

SIGBI has worked on railway safety for women and girls for more than 30 years. In 1996, it launched the “Future of Rail” project after a Soroptimist member was attacked on a train in the London area.

During that original project, members carried out field research into passenger experiences. They visited more than 500 train stations across the United Kingdom and spoke with station managers and railway employees.

SIGBI relaunches station safety review

SIGBI restarted the project in 2024⁠, using similar questions to assess what had changed at British stations since the first investigation.

The latest findings are based on 388 surveys covering 373 stations and 985 platforms. The review looked at the visibility of railway staff, the presence of emergency help points, station signage, and the quality of safety information available to passengers.

The organization says the results show a continuing safety gap between women and men on the rail network. They also raise questions about accountability, staff visibility and the protection of female passengers after dark.

O’Rourke said the limited progress since the earlier work was a serious concern.

“It is shocking that so little has changed in nearly 30 years. The same problems persist, the same voices are not being heard, and progress seems more like a circle than a straight line,”

Unstaffed train stations raise accountability questions

Staffing was one of the central issues identified by the report.

Only 10% of the stations included in the investigation had staff present throughout the whole period when passengers were there. Nearly 30% of stations were permanently unstaffed, leaving passenger safety mainly dependent on technology.

The report also found that only 44% of stations clearly displayed who was responsible for safety at the site. SIGBI says this indicator has not improved since the earlier report and contributes to a wider accountability problem in how passenger safety is managed.

Emergency help points missing or out of service

The investigation found that 28% of the stations reviewed, equal to 103 stations, had no emergency help points.

At other stations, help points were present but not working. The report refers to Altrincham station, where one such point has reportedly been out of service for around 10 years.

SIGBI is calling for an immediate audit of emergency help points across the rail network. It also wants a mandatory programme of regular testing and maintenance.

The organization is also asking for British Transport Police contact numbers to be displayed on every platform, rather than only at station entrances.

Women’s safety at train stations after dark

Several observers involved in the investigation said they felt genuinely unsafe at some stations. This was particularly the case for women travelling alone in the evening.

The report says some stations were described as “intimidating,” “frightening,” or as places that created a sense of vulnerability and that women would avoid after dark.

Stations named in the report include Albrighton, Landywood, Great Wyrley, Polegate, Bulwell, Aigburth, Nantwich, Sundridge Park and Filey.

Among stations with car parks, 52% were considered safe at night.

The report also found that taxi information was available at 83% of stations. However, public pay phones have been removed in many locations. SIGBI says this can leave passengers without a quick way to seek help if they do not have a smartphone, their battery is dead, or they have no signal.

Violence against women on the railway has risen

Lindsay Green, programme director at SIGBI, said the relaunch of the project was intended to return women’s safety to the agenda of decision-makers.

“Our goal is to support women and girls by advocating for equal rights, opportunities, and representation. The relaunch of our rail safety project was essential for advancing this important issue and bringing it to the forefront of policymakers’ agendas,”

Green said the renewed survey came at the same time as the latest British Transport Police report⁠, which found that violence against women and girls on the British rail network had increased by more than 50% since 2021.

“It is clear that more needs to be done, and urgently,”

Minimum safety standards proposed for stations

Following the investigation, SIGBI is calling for minimum safety standards to be introduced at all train stations, with particular attention to unstaffed stations and evening travel.

The organization says stations should have working help points, monitored CCTV, sufficient lighting and clear information on how to contact emergency services.

It also wants each station to display the name of the person responsible for safety, improve accessibility for disabled passengers, and keep printed timetables available so people without smartphone access are not excluded.

Other recommendations include installing a free phone at every station where public pay phones have been removed and appointing a national body with clear authority over passenger safety.

SIGBI is calling on rail operators, Network Rail, the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road, the UK regulator for the rail and road sectors, to address the shortcomings identified in the report.

The organization says the findings show that station safety cannot rely only on technology. In its view, staff presence, lighting, working emergency systems, clear information and visible accountability all affect whether women and girls trust rail transport.

British Transport Police says passengers and rail staff can use the 61016 text service for non-emergency crime reports, including issues affecting a rail journey or local station. Its travel safety advice also tells passengers who need help at night to speak to police, call 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016, and to use a station help point if they have no phone signal and cannot find staff.

SIGBI also runs bystander response training programmes in communities across the United Kingdom to help prevent violence against women and girls.