The rail minister met with staff at East Croydon station yesterday to promote a nationwide safety scheme.

East Croydon has recently been accredited as a "secure station" by the British Transport Police, as part of an initiative to set the standard in reducing crime, safeguarding vulnerable people and ensuring passenger safety.

Minister Andrew Jones met with Southern station staff, BTP officers and railway charities to highlight the scheme's work.

He said: "“The Secure Stations Scheme forms part of the exceptional work British Transport Police, station staff and charities do every single day to give passengers the safe journeys they deserve.

“More than 170 stations are now newly or re-accredited under the refreshed scheme, demonstrating an outstanding commitment to tackling crime and safeguarding passengers.

“It is particularly poignant and important today to commend the incredible work being done on suicide prevention, ensuring we protect vulnerable people on our railways.”

Originally launched in 1998, the Secure Stations Scheme provides station operators the chance to demonstrate how they are working with partners to make journeys as safe as possible.

The national scheme covers all rail networks which are policed by the British Transport Police.

A range of factors are assessed before a station can be granted accreditation, including visibility, lighting, CCTV, safeguarding of vulnerable people and crime data at the station in question.

British Transport Police Chief Constable, Paul Crowther, said: “Tackling crime and safeguarding the most vulnerable on the railway is one of our key priorities and we’re pleased to see that more than 170 stations have now been accredited under the refreshed Secure Stations scheme – helping passengers and staff feel safer across the rail the rail network.

“The chance of becoming a victim of crime whilst travelling or working on the network remains comparatively low – on average there are only 19 recorded crimes for every million passenger journeys.

"Secure Stations is an important initiative, acting as a national benchmark that police, rail industry and Government can work towards making stations an even safer and low crime environment."

A major aim of the scheme is to prevent suicide.

Samaritans Chief Executive Officer, Ruth Sutherland said: “Samaritans has been working with the railway industry since 2010 to prevent suicide and provide advice, training and access to our service.

"Samaritans has now trained more than 17,000 railway staff to spot vulnerable people on the network and intervene to help them.

“We see partnerships as playing a vital part in achieving our vision of reducing suicide. They allow us to reach vulnerable groups that may not otherwise contact Samaritans.

“We join up with organisations from a variety of sectors, including health, education/young people, transport, construction and the services. We look forward to continuing to do this and save more lives in the future.”