SOUTH Western Railway (SWR) has launched a major new campaign to tackle discrimination and abuse on the railway and affirm that everyone is welcome on its network.

The All aboard campaign encourages anyone who experiences or witnesses discrimination or abuse to report it by texting the British Transport Police (BTP) on 61016 or calling 999 in an emergency.

The campaign is backed by new YouGov polling, commissioned by SWR, which reveals that 10 per cent of the public has been subjected to discrimination or abuse by a fellow passenger while travelling by train, and 15 per cent of the public has witnessed another passenger be subjected to discrimination or abuse by a fellow passenger while travelling by train.

While 52 per cent of the British public say they are likely to report such discrimination or abuse, 56 per cent are unclear about how to report it, and a further 11 per cent say they don’t know if they are clear (two thirds of the public in total).

Posters promoting the campaign will appear on trains and at stations across the network, alongside special announcements and social media posts. This will be accompanied by an internal campaign aimed at ensuring all SWR colleagues are free from discrimination and abuse at work.

Stuart Meek, chief operating officer, said: “Discrimination and abuse have no place on the railway or anywhere else in society. We want our customers to know that everyone is welcome on SWR, and we urge anyone who is subjected to or witnesses discrimination or abuse to report it to the BTP by texting 61016.

“This polling shows that one in ten of the public has been subjected to discrimination or abuse by a fellow passenger on the railway, and 15 per cent has witnessed it. This is totally unacceptable, and we want to tackle it.

“It is encouraging that the public is likely to want to report such incidents, but the polling also shows that most of the public doesn’t know how to. Our All aboard campaign is all about raising that awareness so we can get to a point where no one faces discrimination or abuse on the railway.”

Charlie Doyle, Assistant Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, added: “Discrimination and abuse have no place in today’s society. Unfortunately, we still see too many cases of such behaviour, including on our rail network.

“Working with our industry partners, we endeavour to ensure that everyone feels safe travelling or working on the railways.

“I would encourage anyone who witnesses inappropriate behaviour or abuse to report it. Together we can make the railway network a hostile environment to offending.”