Rail Safety

I have referred before to issues of transport safety and the new Assembly Investment in British Transport police for the Valley Lines. This came up in the Assembly this week.

Leighton Andrews: You will be aware that we have had specific issues and incidents at stations in my constituency, including at Treorchy. I welcome your investment, particularly in extending the numbers of community support officers with the British Transport Police and Arriva. That is an important development, and I was pleased to see two of them at Trehafod station on Friday. The investment in CCTV is also important. Can you guarantee that you intend to continue that investment in future? With the rise in passenger numbers on these trains, it will be a service that passengers will want to see for the future.

Andrew Davies: It is clearly a crucial factor, and it is not just about the frequency, reliability or comfortableness of trains; it is actually a matter of station and train safety and security, particularly for women. Recent surveys show that being on a station late at night is a frightening prospect for the overwhelming majority of women, and I am committed to anything that we can do to reduce that fear for their personal safety. However, it is not something that we can just do on our own, as the train operators also have a role to play, as do the British Transport Police and local authorities.