APPENDIX 7
Memorandum submitted by South Eastern
Trains
1. SOUTH EASTERN
TRAINS
South Eastern Trains operates trains services
from Kent and East Sussex into London. We run approximately 1,700
trains a day, 1,400 into the capital. We carry 120,000 passengers
a day into London during the morning peak and 132.2 million passenger
journeys are made with us every year.
We have 178 stations on our network of which
142 are covered by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV). SET is responsible
for day-to-day operations at these stations, save for the major
London terminals, which are managed by Network Rail, and Blackfriars,
which is managed by Thameslink.
SET took over from Connex on 9 November 2003,
and will transfer to Govia on 1 April 2006 as part of the Integrated
Kent Franchise
SET is committed to creating a safe and secure
environment for its passengers and we are proud of our record
which includes rail industry "firsts" such as the British
Transport Police (BTP) special constable scheme and employing
railway enforcement officers. This issue has the highest priority
within SET, and Managing Director, Michael Holden serves as a
member of the BTP Authority.
1.1 Are stations unsafe?
It is perhaps worth noting that:
— stations are relatively safe places,
with passengers statistically more at risk from crime on the street
outside that in the station itself;
— most crimes at stations occur during
the day when the majority of stations are staffed;
— "crimes" reported on railway
stations includes trespass on the track, graffiti and damage to
cars in station car parks. While all are a criminal offence, these
activities do not constitute much of a risk to passenger security;
and
— any crime on Network Rail-owned land
(which may be hundreds of yards away from the station) is recorded
as a crime happening at that station. For example a criminal offence
committed at a taxi rank or a in a station approach road would
be logged as a crime at the station, irrespective of whether the
victims were rail users.
Of course, while the fear of crime is worse
than the reality, these fears are real and need to be addressed.
2. WHAT ARE
THE MOST
EFFECTIVE METHODS
OF MAKING
RAILWAY AND
UNDERGROUND STATIONS
SAFE FOR
PASSENGERS?
Dealing with crime and disorder is only possible
on a partnership basis, by working closely with the British Transport
Police, the Metropolitan and county police forces, Network Rail,
local authorities and other stakeholders.
The most important task is to create a safe
environment, which helps improve the perception of safety and
security. However, stations are part of the communities they serve
and a reflection of the local area. If that area is littered,
covered in graffiti, badly lit and suffers from crime, this will
influence passengers perceptions of the station.
As a result, since taking over the franchise
from Connex in November 2003, SET has concentrated on improving
standards and has invested some £12.5 million in our stations.
We have re-painted over 100 stations as part of a three yearly
on-going programme and we have introduced benchmark standards
on cleaning. We aim to remove all graffiti from stations within
24 hours and as well as regular cleaning, all stations are now
receiving a "deep clean" once a year. Signage and passenger
information have been improved, we are controlling station access
and egress and we believe that our stations are now cleaner, brighter,
welcoming and provide more reassurance to our passengers.
For your information purposes we attach a brief
summary of measures designed to improve passenger security implemented
by SET over the last two and half years.
3. ARE THE
MINIMUM STANDARDS
TO PROVIDE
A SAFE
AND SECURE
ENVIRONMENT HIGH
ENOUGH? ARE
THE REQUIREMENTS
SUFFICIENTLY CLEAR
AND SPECIFIC
TO BE
EFFECTIVE? IF
NOT, WHAT
CHANGES SHOULD
BE MADE?
Train operators are required to ensure the safety
of their passengers under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at
Work Act, and in civil law, under the Occupiers' Liability Act.
Both require the train operators to take all reasonably practicable
steps to reduce the risks to the public and staff.
To help discharge this responsibility, there
are a number of processes:
— the train operators' own internal
management control processes applicable to stations;
— the Secure Stations Scheme;
— specific requirements for investment
included in franchise tender documents or agreements. These may
relate to, for example, Secure Station accreditation or CCTV;
— regulating ticket office opening
hours; and
— guidance on CCTV systems, produced
by ATOC and Network Rail;
Railway Group Standards may also be relevant
in some areas.
The majority of improvements to security have
come about from proposals from franchisees, rather than from Government
specification. In terms of providing a safe and secure environment
there are no specific franchise commitments other than giving
the train operator a duty of care to its passengers.
Operators would welcome clarity from the Department
for Transport (DfT) on this issue. However, raising safety and
security standards, particularly increasing front line staff numbers
would have cost implications, and have to be reflected in the
premium charged for the franchise, a rise in fares, or by a combination
of both.
4. ARE THE
MINIMUM STANDARDS
EFFECTIVELY POLICED?
ARE THE
PENALTIES FOR
FAILING TO
PROVIDE A
SECURE STATION
ENVIRONMENT SUFFICIENTLY
SEVERE?
Our own standards are the subject of external
and internal audit. Internally, failure to protect passengers
and staff would be the focus of attention by the SET board who
take this issue as seriously as the committee does. Externally.
breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act are dealt with by
Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate and carry the risk of prosecution.
Where station standards are part of a franchise agreement they
are monitored by the DfT and breach will result in action under
the terms of that agreement.
5. IS IT
SUFFICIENTLY CLEAR
TO PASSENGERS
AND OTHERS
WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE SAFETY
OF PASSENGERS?
Yes. Responsibility rests with the train operator.
At all our stations there is an information display giving contact
details for the station manager, and telephone numbers for our
customer services unit, Passenger Focus or London Travelwatch,
Network Rail and the BTP.
At our smaller stations there are help points
which enable passengers to contact our staff direct.
However, in terms of station policing there
may be some confusion amongst passengers as to the roles and responsibilities
of the BTP and the metropolitan and county forces.
6. WHY ARE
SO FEW
STATIONS ACCREDITED
UNDER THE
SECURE STATIONS
SCHEME? SHOULD
THE SCHEME
BE MADE
COMPULSORY?
To achieve accreditation under the DfT's secure
stations scheme, the design of the station must conform to standards
judged by the BTP to prevent and reduce crime and improve passenger
safety, crime statistics must have reduced in the 12 months prior
to the inspection, a survey of passengers must show that they
feel secure and finally, that the management of the station must
enable the operator to reduce crime and communicate with passengers.
Of these four criteria, only the last is in
our gift. Nearly all our stations are over a century old, have
several access points and date from an era where staffing levels
were considerably more generous. Some also have listed building
status, making it very difficult to effect design changes. As
for reducing crime statistics, we now positively encourage passengers
and staff to report all crime, including graffiti, vandalism,
trespass on the line, and damage to vehicles in car parks. This
has the effect of increasing the number of reported incidents.
As outlined in 1.1 above, crime statistics also include incidents
on Network Rail land outside the station, over which we have no
direct ownership or control. It is also extremely difficult to
allay passengers' fear or perception of crime,—a situation
not helped by alarmist media coverage.
This notwithstanding, SET is applying for secure
station accreditation for nine stations on the Hayes Line.
For the reasons outlined above, unless the criteria
for accreditation is revised we do not feel the scheme should
be made compulsory. Moreover, if there were sanctions against
operators for not having secure stations accreditation, there
may be a temptation not to report crime for fear of losing it.
7. WHAT MEASURES
SHOULD BE
REQUIRED TO
ENSURE SIGNIFICANT
IMPROVEMENTS IN
PASSENGERS' SAFETY
AT RAILWAY
STATIONS?
We believe that station security will be enhanced
by the upgrading of station CCTV systems to include monitoring
by staff in our control room, continued high visibility security
patrols by our Rail Enforcement Officers, by working closely with
the British Transport Police to identify and provide other physical
security improvements and partnership working with Network Rail,
local authorities and other stakeholders. It is our view that
good passenger and staff security comes from the delivery of integrated
programmes, including improving the environment and providing
training.
Re-deployment of staff may also be part of the
solution. Last year, in response to a fall in the number of traditional
ticket office transactions, SET submitted proposals to the former
Strategic Rail Authority to reduce ticket office opening hours
and instead re-deploy staff to customer-facing positions in stations
and on trains.
We envisaged no compulsory redundancies and
our proposals included recruiting 30 additional members of staff.
However, the DfT has deferred any decision until Govia takes over
SET on 1st April. We are hopeful of a positive decision, particularly
in light of a recent Greater London Assembly report which called
on train operators to meet concerns about safety at stations by
considering more imaginative staffing deployment at stations.
8. IS THE
GOVERNMENT'S
APPROACH TO
PASSENGER SAFETY
IN STATIONS
EFFECTIVE?
At the heart of this issue has been the lack
of any formal Government approach to passenger safety, as when
drawing up the first rail franchises, the former Office of Passenger
Rail Franchising did not include any commitments to improve security
at stations.
We are pleased that the DfT is now addressing
this, and we understand that the specification for the South Western
franchise will include minimum requirements on visible staffing
and the installation of barriers. We are also advised that Transport
for London's (TfL) specification for the Silverlink Metro service
will incorporate a commitment to staff stations at night. We assume
that if such commitments are included in future rail franchises,
or the terms of current franchises are varied by mutual agreement,
that the cost burdens will be reflected in the level of premiums
or by greater flexibility on fares setting.
9. CONCLUSION
We believe that since taking over from Connex,
SET has made significant progress in improving passenger safety.
While the fear of crime is still there, public perception, as
gauged through independently conducted surveys, has slowly improved.
Our off-peak passenger loadings, particularly in the evening and
at night have also improved, demonstrating that despite alarmist
press coverage as to the safety of passengers at stations, the
public has not been deterred from using our services.
We accept that there is always more that could
be done to improve passenger security, and we welcome debate on
this issue. However, we would ask that that debate is balanced,
uninfluenced by political considerations and that any recommendations
are properly evidenced and costed.
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