Last Friday I was delighted to present two awards to the staff at St Mary Cray station in recognition of their efforts to improve safety for passengers travelling to and from the station. Both awards – the ‘Secure Station’ accreditation by the Department for Transport, and the ‘Safer Parking Award’ from the British Parking Association – are administered by the British Transport Police.
The awards are only given to operators who can demonstrate that:
Crime is reduced;
The station presents a clean, welcoming environment and is free from graffiti;
Measures exist to deter crime, including CCTV and high quality lighting;
Staff have conflict resolution knowledge and a good working relationship with the British Transport Police and local police;
In an independently conducted survey, passengers say they feel safer when at the station.
Given the sometimes negative media perception about safety at railway stations, the latter is by far the most difficult to achieve, and stands testament to the hard work of the station’s staff. Chatting to those at the station last week, it’s clear that gaining the two awards is no mean feat in the industry.
Whilst many of us remain unhappy with the reliability and punctuality of our local train operators, I think the very large majority of us would agree that we rarely have cause to complain about the service individual members of staff provide.
My congratulations again to everyone at St Mary Cray station on this fantastic achievement!