More train users fear for their safety as sex crimes and crowding rise

THE number of rail passengers who say they feel safe on trains has fallen to a five-year low as sex attacks and overcrowding have hit new highs.

One in four passengers surveyed by rail watchdog Transport Focus said they were less than satisfied with the level of personal safety they experienced on board trains. This is up from one in five in 2012. Over the same period sexual offences on trains reported to police have more than doubled, with almost 1,500 such offences reported to British Transport Police (BTP) in 2016-17. In 2012-13 the figure was 650.

In addition, race hate crimes on Britain’s railway networks have risen by 37 per cent, with an average of more than five reported incidents of abuse or harassment a day.

BTP – which covers railway services in England, Scotland and Wales, including the London Underground – recorded 1,993 racially motivated hate crimes in 2015, an average of 5.5 per day.

It comes after plans to scrap firstclass carriages on busy suburban routes were announced. This will free up space for commuters who often find themselves having to stand.

Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, said passengers should no longer be segregated and pledged the Government will stipulate this in future deals.

The Transport Focus report found that overall satisfaction among passengers over their train journeys has increased significantly by three percentage points, from 80 to 83 per cent. And customers satisfied with the punctuality and reliability of trains increased from 73 to 77 per cent, it said.

According to the report seven train companies significantly improved their performance over the past year, including Southeastern, Gatwick Express, c2c, Heathrow Connect, Heathrow Express, Greater Anglia and Hull Trains.

For the first time the survey included a question on crowding levels, to which less than a third (28 per cent) of passengers said they were satisfied. The issue of overcrowding is also likely to exacerbate feelings of being unsafe among passengers.

Dissatisfaction over standards on trains, including overcrowding, has led to consumer group Which? gathering more than 95,000 signatures on a rail petition addressing the “delays, cancellations, constant overcrowding and hideous train conditions” faced by angry rail passengers.