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Monday 1 Apr 2019

Peeing for free is no April Fool’s joke for millions of passengers

Region & Route:

National

It’s no joke – and certainly not an April Fool’s joke - as Network Rail today (1 April 2019)  made the last of the country’s biggest and busiest station toilets ‘free to pee’.

Millions of station users will be bursting with anticipation this morning as London Liverpool Street, Edinburgh Waverley and London King’s Cross stations today joins 16 other stations across the country – Britain’s biggest and busiest stations – in removing its charges for using the station’s public toilets.

Andrew Haines, chief executive, said: “Passengers have told us that toilets are an important issue for them and taking this step is just one, of a number of small measures we are taking, to put our passengers first by helping to make their journeys a bit more hassle-free.”

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Scrapping toilet charges is a welcome step for passengers. Toilets are a priority for improvement at stations according to our research and will signal the end of fumbling around in your pocket for change to spend a penny.”

Passengers have gone potty for free toilets ever since Birmingham New Street station started the trend when its £750m transformational rebuild saw its new toilets open, without charges, from the get-go. The feedback from stations users proved to be extremely positive and surveys (NRPS – National Rail Passenger Survey) from Transport Focus consistently highlighted station toilets as an important issue for passengers.

Other ‘passenger first’ initiatives at our stations include:

• the introduction of water fountains - now at 16 stations (final two by the summer)
• more and new seating
• clutter-free concourses
• ‘one-station’ teams (train operator and Network Rail staff wearing one uniform)

Network Rail managed stations:

Station	Entries and exits per year*	Date toilets went free
Birmingham New St	43.7m	2015
Bristol Temple Meads	11.4m	Free
Clapham Junction	29.4m	April 2018
Edinburgh Waverley	23.3m	1 April 2019
Glasgow Central	32.9m	February 2019
Guildford	8m	April 2018
Leeds	31.1m	December 2018
Liverpool Lime St	16m	December 2018
London Bridge	48.5m	August 2016
London Cannon Street	23.4m	Free
London Charing Cross	28.3m	December 2016
London Euston	44.7m	March 2019
London King’s Cross	34m	1 April 2019
London Liverpool Street	67m	1 April 2019
London Paddington	36.6m	January 2019
London Victoria	75m	December 2016
London Waterloo	94.3m	March 2019
Manchester Piccadilly	27.7m	December 2018
Reading	17m	Free

• Office of Rail and Road statistics 2018