The rail industry has agreed a national action plan to improve access to welfare facilities for railway workers, following an operational trial that demonstrated how freight train drivers can request unscheduled toilet stops.
The programme was presented at a workshop hosted by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and supported by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). It brought together 51 senior leaders from 35 organisations, including passenger and freight operators, Network Rail, the Department for Transport, trade unions and suppliers.
Although welfare facilities are available across the network, some groups of railway workers, including train drivers, can struggle to access them during their duties. The industry said the issue had previously lacked a coordinated, cross-sector response.
Freight trial sets out operating model
The Freight Safe Programme’s Provision of Welfare Facilities Project is being delivered by freight operating companies, Network Rail, RSSB, ASLEF, LNER and GTR, with support from ORR and DfT Rail Security.
Its trial route runs along the East Coast Main Line between London Gateway and Doncaster. Under the agreed blueprint, a driver can contact the signaller using GSM-R to request an unscheduled toilet stop at a suitable agreed location, within existing rules and procedures.
Potential stopping points are assessed against three conditions: whether the train can stop safely, including factors such as gradient and train length; whether the driver can reach the facility by a safe walking route; and whether the facility and its location present acceptable safety and security risks.
An operational test on 23 September 2026 demonstrated the network’s capacity to accommodate the stops and confirmed that the GSM-R request process worked. Freight operators are now seeking additional suitable facilities for further testing in October, with mobilisation of a network-wide rollout due to begin on World Toilet Day in 2026.
Data tools and workplace culture
RSSB’s Welfare Insights tool maps welfare facilities at stations, depots, signal boxes and customer sites against freight dwell-time data. It is intended to identify existing facilities that meet the three-tier assessment and highlight gaps in provision. RSSB said the system could eventually support the development of train paths and service plans that better reflect welfare requirements.
Network Rail is also modernising its Welfare App. Data is being incorporated into a wider system with geolocation functionality, which is planned to launch in mid-2027 and provide rail personnel with easier access to welfare location information.
Train operator c2c presented its Caught Short Guide, introduced in 2024, which gives drivers explicit management backing to take toilet breaks. The company reported almost no measurable impact on performance since its introduction, supporting the industry’s view that welfare provision and punctuality should not be treated as competing priorities.
The RSSB Railway Welfare Facilities Charter, launched in October 2025, has been signed by 40 organisations. The new action plan calls on organisations that have not signed it either to do so or explain why they have not.
Industry commitments
Organisations are also expected to appoint a senior leader to promote a positive culture around toilet breaks. Owners of welfare facilities have committed to engage with the Freight Safe Programme and assess their sites promptly, while the industry plans to establish a welfare forum to monitor delivery of the national action plan.
Richard Hines, HM Chief Inspector of Railways at ORR, said: “For too long, some railway workers have faced unacceptable barriers to accessing basic welfare facilities while carrying out their duties. Addressing this is not only important from a health and safety perspective, it is also central to building a more inclusive railway and a culture where people are treated with dignity and respect.”
He added: “The true measure of success will not be the plans, charters or technology alone. It will be whether frontline railway workers experience a tangible improvement in their working conditions and can access the facilities they need, when they need them, wherever they are working on the network.”
Rebecca Vaudrey, director of health, safety and security at DB Cargo UK and welfare project sponsor for the Freight Safe Programme, said the light locomotive trial had shown that the concept was achievable within existing operating rules, that GSM-R was sufficient for stop requests and that suitable facilities already existed.
“The project completion and network-wide scaling are now wholly reliant on the engagement and support of wider Rail Industry, particularly Station Facility Owners, and I am pleased to have secured that commitment from them today,” she said.
Joshua Fisher, chief operating officer at RSSB, said: “This is a problem that has been discussed for years because it sits between organisations rather than within any one of them. Today’s event was not a discussion about whether to act; it was a working session on how to act, by when, and who is accountable. We leave with a tested blueprint, a national plan and a date.”