Britain’s rail industry has agreed a coordinated national action plan to improve access to toilet and welfare facilities for frontline railway workers, following successful operational trials demonstrating how train drivers can make unscheduled welfare stops without compromising safety or network performance.
The agreement follows a cross-industry workshop organised by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), supported by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which brought together 51 senior leaders from 35 organisations, including passenger and freight operators, Network Rail, the Department for Transport, trade unions and suppliers.
The initiative aims to address a longstanding problem affecting railway employees, particularly freight train drivers, who can spend extended periods working across the network without reliable access to suitable toilet facilities.
Although welfare facilities exist at stations, depots, signal boxes and other railway locations, accessing them during operational duties has remained difficult for some employees.
In certain cases, the lack of practical arrangements has forced workers to resort to undignified alternatives, raising concerns about welfare, working conditions and the industry’s approach to basic employee needs.
The new National Action Plan seeks to move beyond individual organisational initiatives by establishing common procedures, improving information about available facilities and creating clear accountability for delivering improvements.
Successful East Coast Main Line trial provides blueprint
A central development is the Freight Safe Programme’s Provision of Welfare Facilities Project, which has been testing a practical approach to enabling freight train drivers to access toilets during their journeys.
The project brings together freight operating companies, Network Rail, RSSB, ASLEF, LNER and Govia Thameslink Railway, with support from ORR and the Department for Transport’s Rail Security team.
Using the East Coast Main Line between London Gateway and Doncaster as a trial route, the project has developed a procedure allowing drivers to request an unscheduled welfare stop through the existing GSM-R railway communications system.
Under the proposed approach, a driver can contact the signaller to request a stop at a previously identified suitable location, operating within existing railway rules and procedures.
To determine whether a location is appropriate, facilities must satisfy a three-stage assessment covering the operational safety of stopping the train, the driver’s safe access to the facility and any location-specific security or safety risks.
Considerations include train length, gradients, safe walking routes and the suitability of the facility itself.
An operational test conducted on 23 September 2026 demonstrated that the approach could work within existing railway operating arrangements, without requiring changes to the established GSM-R communications system.
The trial also demonstrated that sufficient network capacity was available to accommodate the tested stop.
Further testing is planned during October as additional suitable locations are identified, with mobilisation for a wider network rollout scheduled to begin on World Toilet Day, 19 November 2026.
Digital mapping to identify welfare gaps
Alongside the operational trials, RSSB and Network Rail are developing digital tools to help railway organisations identify existing welfare facilities and understand where additional provision is required.
RSSB’s Welfare Insights tool maps facilities across the network, including those at stations, depots, signal boxes and customer premises.
The information is compared with freight train dwell-time data to identify locations where trains already stop and where suitable facilities could potentially be accessed.
By applying the three-stage suitability assessment, the system can distinguish between locations that offer practical welfare access and areas where provision remains inadequate.
The longer-term ambition is to use this information when developing train paths and operational plans, allowing welfare requirements to be considered earlier rather than addressed only when a driver needs an unscheduled stop.
Network Rail is also modernising its Welfare App, incorporating information into a wider system that will provide geolocation-based details of available facilities.
The updated system is scheduled for launch in mid-2027 and is intended to make reliable welfare information more accessible to railway employees working across different parts of the infrastructure.
Together, the tools could help operators make better use of existing facilities while identifying where further investment or agreements with facility owners are necessary.
Industry challenged to change attitudes towards toilet breaks
The workshop also addressed the cultural barriers that can prevent railway employees from accessing welfare facilities, even where suitable provision exists.
Passenger operator c2c presented its Caught Short Guide, introduced in 2024, which explicitly supports drivers taking necessary toilet breaks.
According to the operator, the policy has resulted in almost no measurable impact on performance, challenging concerns that providing appropriate welfare access must come at the expense of punctuality.
Participants agreed that no railway employee should face reprimand for needing to use the toilet and that organisations must demonstrate management support through their actions.
The confidential safety reporting service CIRAS also contributed to the discussion, drawing attention to welfare-related concerns raised by railway employees over previous years.
The emphasis on organisational culture recognises that infrastructure and technology alone will not resolve the problem if workers remain reluctant to request breaks because of perceived operational pressures or potential management consequences.
Four commitments form national action plan
The workshop resulted in four principal commitments intended to coordinate delivery across the railway.
Organisations that have not yet signed RSSB’s Railway Welfare Facilities Charter will be expected to do so or explain their reasons for not signing.
Each participating organisation will also nominate a senior leader responsible for promoting a positive culture around toilet breaks and ensuring welfare considerations are reflected in business practices.
Facility owners have committed to engaging with the Freight Safe Programme and assessing the suitability of their locations promptly to support wider implementation.
A new industry welfare forum will also be established to oversee progress and provide accountability for delivering the National Action Plan.
The commitments build on the Railway Welfare Facilities Charter, launched by RSSB in October 2025, which has now attracted signatures from 40 organisations.
ORR says tangible improvements must be the measure of success
The regulator has welcomed the progress while emphasising that employers already have legal responsibilities to assess workplace risks and implement suitable controls.
Richard Hines, HM Chief Inspector of Railways at ORR, said: “For too long, some railway workers have faced unacceptable barriers to accessing basic welfare facilities while carrying out their duties. Addressing this is not only important from a health and safety perspective, it is also central to building a more inclusive railway and a culture where people are treated with dignity and respect.
“Getting this right will help ensure the railway remains a career of choice for current and future generations of workers.
“The law requires employers to assess risks and implement suitable control measures and arrangements. It is therefore encouraging to see so many organisations working together to develop practical and innovative solutions to meet those expectations. Today’s steps represent meaningful progress, but there remains more to do.
“The true measure of success will not be the plans, charters or technology alone. It will be whether frontline railway workers experience a tangible improvement in their working conditions and can access the facilities they need, when they need them, wherever they are working on the network.”
Freight industry calls for wider support
Rebecca Vaudrey, Director of Health, Safety and Security at DB Cargo UK and sponsor of the Freight Safe Programme’s welfare project, said the successful trial had established that practical improvements could be delivered using existing railway systems.
“The recent successful light locomotive trial proved that the concept was achievable within the existing operational rules, that the existing GSM-R system was sufficient for the stop request, that the network had capacity and that facilities for our train drivers do already exist.
“The project completion and network-wide scaling are now wholly reliant on the engagement and support of wider Rail Industry, particularly Station Facility Owners, and I am pleased to have secured that commitment from them today. This will enable FSP to achieve our project delivery deadline of 2026 World Toilet Day.”
Her comments highlight the importance of cooperation between organisations that operate trains and those responsible for the buildings and facilities that drivers may need to access.
For freight operators in particular, where services can operate over long distances and through locations without regular passenger facilities, establishing reliable arrangements across organisational boundaries will be essential.
Turning industry commitments into practical improvements
RSSB Chief Operating Officer Joshua Fisher said the programme demonstrated the importance of addressing issues that fall between traditional organisational responsibilities.
“This is a problem that has been discussed for years because it sits between organisations rather than within any one of them. Today’s event was not a discussion about whether to act; it was a working session on how to act, by when, and who is accountable. We leave with a tested blueprint, a national plan and a date.”
The initiative represents a significant attempt to address a longstanding workforce welfare issue through coordinated industry action rather than isolated local arrangements.
Its success will depend on translating the commitments into accessible facilities, consistent operational procedures and a workplace culture in which employees can request necessary breaks without concern about repercussions.
For an industry facing ongoing challenges around workforce recruitment, retention and employee wellbeing, access to basic welfare facilities is also an important element of maintaining a safe, inclusive and attractive working environment.
With further trials planned and the first stage of national rollout targeted for November, the focus will now turn to ensuring that the arrangements demonstrated on the East Coast Main Line can be adopted across the wider railway.
Ultimately, the programme will be judged not by the number of organisations signing the charter, but by whether frontline workers experience a meaningful and lasting improvement in access to facilities throughout their working day.
