What to do if you are concerned
Please contact the National Helpline on 08457 11 41 41 if you are concerned about graffiti on or near the railway tracks.
At stations run by Network Rail
Network Rail runs 18 key stations. If you are concerned about graffiti at one of the following stations, please contact the National Helpline on 08457 11 41 11:
Birmingham New Street
Cannon Street
Charing Cross
Edinburgh Waverley
Euston
Fenchurch Street
Gatwick
Glasgow Central
King’s Cross
Leeds
Liverpool Lime Street
Liverpool Street
London Bridge
Manchester Piccadilly
Paddington
Victoria
Waterloo.
At stations managed by a Train operating Company
The remaining 2,500 stations are managed by the train operating companies. You will need to contact the ticket office if you are concerned about litter or flytipping at one of their stations.
Outside the railway
If you are concerned about graffiti in areas outside the railway, please contact your local authority and they will arrange for it to be removed.
National Helpline
08457 11 41 41
Graffiti
Graffiti not only looks bad, it also makes passengers and the people who live near the railway feel unsafe.
Each year Network Rail spends more than £3.5 million on the removal of graffiti and this does not include the costs of lost revenue & delays. This money could be better spent on improving the railway.
Creating graffiti can be dangerous
Creating graffiti can be very dangerous – especially if you go on to the tracks. Every year, people are killed and injured when they are creating graffiti. Trespassing on the railway is a criminal offence and carries a fine of up to £1,000.
Our policy on removing graffiti
We are committed to removing all graffiti on the railway as quickly as we can. We prioritise the work in the following order:
- Graffiti that impacts on safety (e.g. graffiti on signs)
- Offensive, racist & sexist graffiti
- Graffiti that can be seen by passengers & the general public
- Graffiti on railway routes, including location cabinets, sub-stations & relay rooms
- Other graffiti as resources allow - with priority given to large amounts of graffiti or graffiti that has been there for a long time.
We try to stop people creating graffiti on the railway
We use a number of different approaches to prevent graffiti depending on the needs of the local area:
- Funding partnerships with local authorities – sometimes we pay local authorities to remove graffiti on our structures. Because they have their own graffiti-removal teams, they can often tackle problems faster & more cheaply than we can. This approach has worked very well in several London local authorities.
- Multi-party initiatives – we bring together the British Transport Police, local police forces, youth-offending teams, train operating companies with local authorities & our own teams to tackle the problem. We know that the law is not the only solution for graffiti and use education, crime reduction, alternative activities for young people, publicity & cleansing as well.
- Intelligence-gathering on offenders – using cameras & daily checking to identify & monitor offenders so that they can be prosecuted
- Anti-graffiti technologies – including using non-stick, textured & graffiti-resistant paints, encouraging plants & trees to cover surfaces (where safe), improving fences and removing redundant buildings.
What to do if you have a problem caused by the railway or have more questions
If you have a problem caused by graffiti or any other part of the railway or if you simply want more information, please contact the National Helpline on 08457 11 41 41.