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Home > Quick links > Plan your journey > Station information > Railway safety & security

Railway safety & security

Our Rail Community Officers have been accredited by the British Transport Police as part of the Railway Safety Accreditation Scheme. They work side by side with the British Transport Police in providing a high profile uniformed presence on our stations and trains. This includes:

  • Detering crime and disorder on our network 
  • Reassuring passengers and employees 
  • Helping reduce crime and the fear of crime 
  • Helping deal with incidents of antisocial behaviour 
  • Engaging with their communities and work to deal with their specific local issues  

Rail Community Officers are responsible for patrolling specific parts of the network close to where they are based. In the London area they are integrated with the British Transport Police Neighbourhood Policing Teams based at Raynes Park, Clapham Junction, and Richmond. Outside the London area Rail Community Officers are based at Guildford, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Bournemouth.

See our Rail Community Officer and Neighbourhood Policing Teams here.

For more information regarding British Transport Police Neighbourhood Policing Teams click here.

Customer Communications and Security Centre

We have a Customer Communications & Security Centre (CCSC) on our network. This has been purpose-built to look after the well being of our passengers and employees by delivering information, reassurance and assistance whenever needed. 

Working in partnership with Transport for London (TfL), we have delivered complete coverage of Help Points and CCTV coverage at every London station, as well as working with many local councils and police forces in crime prevention partnerships.

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Safety education

Safety education is provided to certain organisations by our industry partners Network Rail and British Transport Police, both of whom employ schools liaison personnel specially trained to deliver educational talks to children of all ages on railway safety issues.

South West Trains Teaching Zone

Visit our educational resource Teaching Zone website to access free downloadable lesson plans and factsheets on the dangers and consequences of railway crime and anti-social behaviour on public transport.

Visit our Teaching Zone website

Trackoff

Trackoff is an educational initiative managed by Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) on behalf of the railway industry to help educate children and teenagers about safe conduct on the railway.

Visit trackoff.org/visits for more details

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Code of conduct

We appreciate that most customers behave appropriately when using our trains and stations. However, we would like to ensure that everyone understands the type of behaviour that has a detrimental impact on other passengers and our employees.

We have developed a code of conduct that outlines behaviour that is not permitted at our stations and on trains.

1.Abuse or harassment of our employees, contractors or customers will not be tolerated;
2.Customers are expected to be in possession of a valid ticket if they intend to travel on our trains;
3.Smoking is not permitted in any part of our trains or stations;
4.Customers must not put their feet on seats when travelling on our trains or waiting at stations;
5.No loitering on stations or trains;
6.Stations and car parks must not be used as a playground or a meeting place. Riding bicycles on station platforms is prohibited, as is using skateboards on station premises;
7.Shouting, swearing, and playing loud music through personal sound systems or mobile phones to the annoyance of other passengers on our stations or trains is prohibited;
8.Misbehaviour on our stations or trains may result in your removal from the premises by police or security staff;
9.Unacceptable behaviour such as spitting and soiling stations or trains will not be tolerated; and
10.Customers will be refused travel if they are deemed to be unfit to travel as a result of alcohol intoxication.
We take the safety and security of our customers very seriously; therefore, the refusal to abide by this code of conduct could lead to prosecution.

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British Transport Police

 

The British Transport Police (BTP) is the specialist police service for Britain’s railways, helping to deliver a safe railway that is free from disruption and the fear of crime. Visit the BTP website here.

Working closely with their partners in the rail industry and local police forces, the BTP is a national police service divided into seven geographical areas, covering 10,000 miles of track and more than 3,000 railway stations and depots. Each area is headed by an Area Commander. 

The vast majority of the South West Trains network falls under the London South area. The London South area employs 353 police officers and 154 police staff.

South West Trains also funds nine additional uniformed police officers and three non-uniformed officers, dedicated to policing the South West Trains network.

If you wish to report a crime committed on the South West Trains network, please call the BTP on 0800 40 50 40. If you witness a crime being committed on the network, please dial 999.

 

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Rail Community Officers

Rail Community Officers are accredited under the Railway Safety Accreditation Scheme (RSAS) and are easily recognisable as they wear the distinctive RSAS logo shown here. In order to gain accredited status every Rail Community Officer, has gone through a thorough training programme, endorsed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), and a detailed vetting process.

Rail Community Officers are awarded certain powers by the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, these powers enable them to issue Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) for certain offences including trespassing and graffiti. The role of the Rail Community Officers is also to uphold the railway byelaws.

If you wish to get in touch with your local policing team to discuss any issues you may have please email securityadmin@swtrains.co.uk with your enquiry including your contact details on the email. We will pass these on to the relevant team who will then contact you as soon as possible.

Click here to see the Railway Byelaws.

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Help points and CCTV

Help Points

Should you need help or information at any time, you can speak directly to our Customer Communications & Security Centre operators via a station Help Point. These are available at all of our stations, and we receive all manner of requests from train running and connection information to lost property recovery and are manned 24 hours a day. 

You can also report emergency situations or suspicious activity through the Help Points - use the emergency button to speak to one of our operators, who are in direct contact with the emergency services to offer assistance in these matters.

CCTV

Our Customer Communication & Security Centre operators also monitor our wide-ranging system of closed-circuit television, which covers our entire network of stations. This is monitored 24 hours a day as part of our commitment to providing a safer and more secure environment for both customers and staff.

Our entire train fleet is also equipped with on board CCTV for the safety of our customers, their property, and our staff.

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