Northern has announced that it is installing 86 new CCTV cameras at Manchester Victoria station in an effort to make journeys safer for customers.
The train operator said it will improve CCTV coverage at the station, including the entrance, concourse, two footbridges and platforms 1-6.
Craig Harrop, Regional Director at Northern, said: “We already have thousands of cameras at stations across our network and on-board our trains but we are adding more with this £750,000 investment to ensure customers and colleagues always feel safe.
“While CCTV often discourages criminal and anti-social behaviour, if offenders are caught on camera, police can also use the footage to bring them to justice.”
The work at Manchester Victoria is part of an investment programme announced last year that includes more than 600 new CCTV cameras at Northern stations.
In December, the train operator revealed the number of dangerous attacks recorded on its trains had fallen by almost 90 per cent. There were 69 recorded incidents in 2022 and just eight in 2023.
These figures relate to trains being struck by objects thrown from bridges, railway embankments and stations or those which collide with ‘substantial items’ deliberately placed on the track.
Northern has also installed 7,000 HD CCTV cameras on board its fleet of trains and invested £1.7m in the roll-out of more than 1,000 extra body-worn camera kits to colleagues across its network, taking the total number now in operation to 1,300.
British Transport Police has access to all the footage and can use it in criminal prosecutions.
Body-worn camera footage was recently used to secure a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) which bans a man from the North East from travelling on all Northern services for 18 months.
He had committed a string of offences over a two-year period including repeated fare evasion, verbal threats of a racist nature towards members of train crew, threats of physical violence towards members of train crew and causing damage to train carriages.
Anyone who witnesses anti-social behaviour or other criminal activity on the railway should contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40.
People can also report crimes via the British Transport Police ‘Railway Guardian’ app, an all-in-one safety app that allows users to report crimes or concerns on the rail network, share journeys with trusted contacts and get access to news, guides and support.
The app is available to download from Google Play and the App Store.
