Railway stations in Yorkshire and the Humber raise safety concerns for women travelling alone

The study identified concerns at several Yorkshire and Humber stations, including permanently unstaffed locations and sites where vital emergency facilities were missing.

While locations such as Harrogate and Shipley demonstrated many of the safety features campaigners are calling for, other stations raised concerns around staffing and emergency provision.

Low Moor in Bradford, Sherburn-in-Elmet and South Milford were among stations recorded as permanently unstaffed, while Church Fenton and Ulleskelf were highlighted as locations where emergency phones had been removed without replacement.

Filey station was among the locations specifically referenced by survey observers when discussing personal safety. One member described the station as "grim", while another said it was "scruffy, dirty, unkempt" and noted that no railway staff were present on site.

SIGBI says these local findings mirror a national pattern of declining staff presence and inconsistent safety measures across the rail network. Across the UK, only 10% of stations are staffed at all times, 30% are permanently unstaffed and fewer than half (44%) display clear information about who is responsible for passenger safety.

Gillie O’Rourke, President of SIGBI, said: “These key measures, which can help women feel more secure, remain inconsistent, patchy and mixed at best. This leaves women increasingly vulnerable when travelling by train.”

Soroptimists carried out grassroots research into the experiences of female passengers, visiting more than 500 overground stations across Britain. Their work also included consultation with station managers and rail staff to build a comprehensive picture of safety and accessibility on the rail network.

The results of the new survey are the outcome of 388 surveys undertaken by Soroptimists covering 373 stations and 985 platforms.

The survey’s aims were to assess the visibility of railway staff, emergency help points, and station signage, and to evaluate the clarity and quality of safety information.

In response to the investigation’s findings, SIGBI is calling for the introduction of minimum safety standards for all stations, particularly during the evening. The charity believes urgent action is needed to address the gaps in basic safety provision across the rail network.

This includes reliable emergency help points, monitored CCTV, adequate lighting and clear emergency contact information.

Lindsay Green, Programme Director at SIGBI, said: “Our goal is to stand up for women and girls, advocating for equal rights, opportunities, and representation. The relaunch of our railway safety project has been key in advancing this important issue and bringing it to the forefront of policy makers’ agendas.

“The timing of the survey’s relaunch happened to coincide with the British Transport Police’s last report which stated that violence against women and girls on British railways had risen by more than 50% since 2021. Clearly, more needs to be done, and urgently."

A Northern spokesperson said: “We take the safety of all our customers extremely seriously and work hard to ensure they can travel with confidence.

“We have staff at more than 150 stations across our vast network, around 1,600 CCTV cameras and more than 440 help points.

“Anyone who is concerned about anti-social behaviour or criminal activity at one of our stations should contact the British Transport Police.

“They can also speak to one of our conductors, who are on board every train, and Travel Safe officers, who regularly patrol services across the North of England.”

Read SIGBI’s Railway Station Safety Survey Report here: https://sigbi.org/railwaysurvey/