The government has launched a new national campaign to tackle sexual harassment on public transport, alongside a new accreditation scheme that will require train operators to demonstrate how they are protecting women and girls across the rail network.
The initiative forms part of the government’s wider Enough campaign and has been developed in partnership with the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Rail Delivery Group and British Transport Police (BTP).
The campaign focuses on driving up reporting of harassment on trains and at stations, targeting behaviours such as staring, intrusive questioning and unwelcome comments. Posters, digital screens and onboard messaging will direct passengers towards reporting routes including texting BTP, speaking to railway staff or submitting reports online.
Alongside the public awareness campaign, the Department for Transport and BTP have formally launched the new national Safer Railway Scheme, introducing an industry-wide accreditation framework for rail operators.
Under the scheme, operators will be independently assessed by BTP against eight standards covering areas such as victim support, staff training, safeguarding, crime prevention and harassment response procedures. Operators will need to achieve at least 70% overall to gain accreditation.
The move represents one of the clearest examples yet of safeguarding and violence against women and girls becoming embedded within formal railway operational standards and performance expectations.
The announcement also follows implementation of the Public Sexual Harassment Act, which now makes intentional sex-based harassment in public a criminal offence punishable by fines, criminal records and potentially up to two years in prison.
Safeguarding Minister Natalie Fleet said the campaign aimed to challenge abuse across the transport network and make public transport safer for women and girls.
Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood described the Safer Railway Scheme as “a major step forward in setting clear expectations for train operators to prevent harassment and take strong action when incidents do happen”.
Network Rail Chief Security Officer Peter Gibbons said the industry had already been working with BTP to expand CCTV coverage, improve real-time access to footage and strengthen reporting systems.
For the rail sector, the initiative signals a broader shift in how safety performance is being measured. Historically, rail safety has focused heavily on operational and physical risks, but safeguarding, personal security and passenger confidence are increasingly becoming core operational responsibilities.
The new scheme could also have wider implications for procurement, training and station management across the industry.
For operators and suppliers, likely areas of increased focus include:
- CCTV and video analytics systems
- Real-time incident reporting technology
- Staff safeguarding training
- Passenger communication systems
- Integrated station security operations
- Data sharing and intelligence platforms
The launch also aligns with the wider trend towards integrated operational management across rail, particularly as Great British Railways reforms progress and operators increasingly centralise control, monitoring and customer response functions.
For SMEs working in rail technology, security, training and passenger services, the scheme may create additional opportunities as operators seek to meet accreditation standards and demonstrate measurable safeguarding performance.
The rail industry’s role within the government’s wider Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy is also likely to place increasing scrutiny on how operators respond to incidents, support victims and embed safeguarding into day-to-day railway operations.
