Train safety in the United Kingdom and the United States is under the microscope this week, as two major developments highlight both progress and persistent challenges in making railways safer for passengers, workers, and the public at large. In Great Britain, the iconic 'See it. Say it. Sorted' campaign is getting its first significant overhaul since 2016, aiming to empower travelers to spot and report suspicious activity with greater ease. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the United States is grappling with the slow adoption of a federal safety program that lets rail employees anonymously report mistakes—a system that, according to federal studies, could reduce accidents but has seen limited buy-in from the country’s largest freight railroads.
On September 16, 2025, British train passengers began encountering bold new posters and hearing updated announcements as part of the refreshed 'See it. Say it. Sorted' campaign. The initiative, first launched nearly a decade ago, has become a fixture of the UK’s rail network, encouraging passengers to report anything from unattended bags to people accessing restricted areas. The most visible change? The British Transport Police’s 61016 text number is now front and center, making it easier than ever for travelers to discreetly alert authorities if something seems amiss.
According to the UK Department for Transport, the campaign has already made a tangible difference. Since its inception in 2016, reports to the 61016 text service have skyrocketed more than eightfold, reaching 255,088 per year. Over 1 million texts have been sent since the service was introduced in 2013, a testament to growing public vigilance. To further boost safety, the government is investing nearly £17 million to improve real-time police access to CCTV at train stations—a move officials say will help identify offenders more quickly and support the government’s broader goal of halving violence against women and girls within the next decade.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy, speaking at the relaunch event at London Victoria station, emphasized the campaign’s enduring relevance: “'See it. Say it. Sorted’ isn’t just an earworm that’s been the soundtrack to our trains for nearly a decade now—it’s a really important security and public safety campaign. It plays a crucial role in making our railways safe and this refresh will help spread its message to even more people.”
British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi echoed that sentiment, underlining the importance of public participation: “Our officers are out across the railway network 24/7 working to keep the public safe—but ‘See it. Say it. Sorted’ reminds us that passengers and rail staff also have a vital role to play in being our eyes and ears. Our pioneering 61016 text service is a simple and discreet way to report crime across the rail network.” She added, “Trust your instincts and text us on 61016.”
The campaign’s influence extends beyond security. Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex Route Director and Crime Lead for the southern region, noted, “This refreshed campaign will ultimately keep our railway running reliably by encouraging passengers to be our eyes and ears. When people speak up, it really helps us respond faster and more effectively to keep everything on time.”
But safety on the rails is a global concern, and the United States presents a striking contrast. After the devastating February 2023 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which enveloped the town in a toxic cloud and sparked national outrage, America’s six largest freight railroads pledged to join the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). This federal program, launched by the Federal Railroad Administration in 2014, allows railroad employees to anonymously report mistakes or near misses without fear of discipline—a principle proven to save lives in other industries.
Yet, as NPR and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism reported on September 15, 2025, progress has been sluggish. Despite their public promises, only two of the major freight railroads—BNSF and Norfolk Southern—have launched pilot programs for C3RS. The rest have yet to move beyond initial commitments. By contrast, Amtrak and 23 smaller railroads have already joined the program, and a federal study found that participants reduced accident rates by about 20%.
Leslie Radanovich, who manages system safety at Metrolink (a Southern California passenger railroad that joined C3RS in 2023), explained the program’s value: “We want to enhance safety by providing to our employees a way to report close calls, near misses and safety concerns without any fear of retribution. I really think that C3RS allows us to see the whole picture, and I think any organization could probably benefit from that.”
For those advocating rail safety, the stakes are all too real. Jim Mathews, president of the Rail Passengers Association and a former member of a federal working group on C3RS, lamented the lack of progress: “This is about real human beings getting killed. This is about families being disrupted. You know, this is real stuff. And we had an opportunity, as a group, to make things better and make things safer, and we didn’t do it.”
Norfolk Southern’s pilot program in Roanoke, Virginia, has already yielded practical improvements, such as clearing vegetation that blocked signals and installing barriers where trespassing was common. Scott Bunten, a general chairman of one of the largest rail unions and a coordinator of the Norfolk Southern pilot, believes in the program’s potential: “I think the general public doesn’t know it, but they have a huge stake in C3RS as well. And if all the railroads were on the same page with it, I think it’d be huge for the industry.”
Bunten emphasized that the success of C3RS hinges on collaboration: “I can’t force them to be in it. They can’t force me to be in it. So it’s got to be a collective effort, and I don’t want it to be one-sided.” He added, “We’ve put a lot into it, and I think it’s paid dividends for everybody involved. And if it ends, it would be a shame.”
Despite the clear benefits, none of the biggest freight railroads would agree to an interview with NPR about their reluctance to fully adopt C3RS. In written statements, BNSF and Norfolk Southern confirmed they are continuing to evaluate their pilot programs, but offered no timeline for broader implementation.
The contrast between the UK’s public-facing, highly visible safety campaign and the US’s behind-the-scenes struggle to build trust and transparency among railroad workers and management is stark. Both nations recognize that safety is a shared responsibility—one that requires vigilance, technological investment, and above all, the willingness to listen to those on the front lines. As the UK government rolls out millions in funding to connect CCTV systems and encourages every passenger to save 61016 in their phones, and as American rail workers push for a culture where reporting mistakes is seen as an act of responsibility rather than a risk, the future of rail safety may well depend on how these lessons are heeded and implemented.
In the end, whether it’s a text to 61016 or an anonymous C3RS report, the message is clear: everyone has a role to play in keeping the rails safe—and the journey home secure.
