SIGBI Reports 55% of 373 UK Stations Lack Security

LONDON – More than half of 373 train stations surveyed across Great Britain had no visible security presence, and 48% of car parks were poorly lit or isolated, according to findings released by Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) in June 2026. The advocacy group’s on-the-ground assessment of 985 platforms revealed that only one in ten stations was staffed for the entire time passengers were present. The investigation, a repeat of a 1996 study, found little progress in basic safety infrastructure for women travelling after dark.

What Does the Proposed Minimum Safety Standard Cover?

SIGBI is calling on the Department for Transport, Network Rail, train operators, and the Office of Rail and Road to introduce and enforce minimum safety standards at all stations, with a focus on evening hours and unstaffed locations. The proposed framework demands functional emergency help points, monitored CCTV, adequate lighting, clear display of who is responsible for on-site safety, and dedicated contact information for the British Transport Police on every platform. The organisation also insists on a free emergency telephone wherever public payphones have been removed, printed timetable information for passengers without smartphones, and improved accessibility for people with disabilities. A national body with clear authority over passenger safety is among the structural reforms urged.

Key Regulatory Data

How Does This Compare to Global Standards?

Directly comparable international mandates for minimum station safety standards were not publicly available at time of publication. However, the gulf between large-scale rail investment and basic passenger protection is stark within the UK itself. A June 2026 National Audit Office report advised pausing the HS2 high-speed rail project, whose cost has ballooned to £102.7 billion, until confidence in delivery is restored – while SIGBI’s findings show that 103 of the stations surveyed lacked any emergency help point, and examples such as Altrincham station had a non-functioning help point for roughly a decade. (Source: National Audit Office, 2026) Separately, the British Transport Police confirmed a rise of more than 50% in violence against women and girls on the rail network since 2021, reinforcing the disconnect between capital megaproject spending and the operational safety of daily travellers.

Editor’s Analysis

SIGBI’s field survey exposes a systemic failure to embed women’s safety into rail infrastructure planning, a pattern echoed by the Ockenden Review’s findings of 444 women and 76 newborns suffering avoidable harm due to substandard NHS maternity care between 2010 and 2023. The overlap is not coincidental: both sectors have normalised environments where women’s concerns are deprioritised, and both reports identify staff invisibility and unclear accountability as core contributors. With Network Rail’s existing regulatory settlement entering a new control period and the ORR reviewing safety metrics, SIGBI’s data could become a forcing function for mandating operator-specific safety compliance scores, potentially linked to future franchise renewals or access charges.

FAQ

Q: What percentage of UK train stations are permanently unstaffed?
A: In the SIGBI sample of 373 stations, nearly 30% were permanently unstaffed, with no staff presence at all. A national figure for all 2,500+ stations was not provided in the report.

Q: How many help points were out of order in the survey?
A: The investigation identified 103 stations (28% of the sample) with no emergency help points at all. It also documented instances of installed but inoperative help points, such as at Altrincham station, reported out of service for about 10 years. A precise network-wide count of malfunctioning units was not disclosed.

Q: Which British train stations were named as particularly unsafe?
A: Stations described by observers as intimidating or frightening included Albrighton, Landywood, Great Wyrley, Polegate, Bulwell, Aigburth, Nantwich, Sundridge Park, and Filey. The report noted these locations often combined poor lighting, isolation, and absent staff.