Member Thoughts

At mid-morning on the day of the 2017 Flower Show, a mixed group of Samaritans, BTP, Merseyrail staff and WiCR members (all with clipboards and welcoming smiles) were greeting female passengers arriving at Southport station.

Their brief was to ask women to complete a short survey about their experiences of rail travel.

It was never going to be a scientific study.

Students and women going to work would have travelled earlier, so our responders were likely to be ‘of a certain age’ and keen gardeners!

However, we wanted to hear their views, and, though they were naturally eager to get on with their day, most agreed to talk to us.

Asked if they felt confident travelling by train, the majority responded:

1) Mainly confident travelling (alone or accompanied) in the daytime but didn’t use trains in the evening.

2)Confidence greatly increased by the presence of staff on trains and stations.

Unsurprising maybe, but nonetheless interesting.

After an exciting and eventful year, we celebrated our first birthday at Liverpool Lime Street Station in July 2017.

In front of our new WiCR banner, at a stand shared with Community Rail in the City, Carolyn 

from Northern, Julie (a train driver) and WiCR members chatted with visitors, and gave out WiCR information leaflets, and, of course, there was birthday cake!

It was a great opportunity for conversations about the need for increased inclusion, diversity, and gender balance across the rail industry.

We were also glad to answer two FAQ’s:

Q Are your members all women?

A. No! Our membership is open to anyone who shares our aims and wants to help us in Achieving Change Together.

Q. What does it cost to join?

A. Nothing! There’s no membership fee.

And so, we looked forward to the start of our second year.