Did you know the toilets at Britain’s biggest railway stations are free to use?
That’s right – you no longer need to spend a penny to use the toilets at the 20 stations we manage ourselves.
It’s part of our efforts to give you better, more comfortable journeys across Britain.
We’ve also been refurbishing the toilets since 2018. It’s so you – along with the tens of millions of other passengers passing through them every day – can enjoy new and modern facilities.
Where can you find the toilets at our biggest stations?
You’ll usually find our toilets near the station concourse. There’s lots of signage around to guide you to them but please do ask one of our many station staff for directions if you need some help.
And we’re committed to making our stations open and accessible to everyone so you’ll find accessible toilets at every one of these 20 stations.
Read more information about our stations and their facilities.
RoomMate
We’ve even installed additional tech at some of our busiest stations around London to further help you use the accessible toilets.
RoomMate is an electronic, wall-mounted device that gives bespoke audio descriptions to blind and visually impaired passengers.
High-visibility door signs let you know if the facility has a RoomMate device installed.
An audio announcement lets you know when go you into the toilet that a recorded description of the room is available. It then gives instructions to wave your hand in front of the unit to activate it should you need the description.
Once activated, RoomMate guides you through options such as the location of the toilet, flush and hand basin to help you use the toilet safely and independently.
You can find the RoomMate service in the accessible toilets at the following stations:
- Clapham Junction
- Guildford
- London Bridge
- London Cannon Street
- London Charing Cross
- London Victoria
- London Waterloo.
Stoma-friendly toilets
We opened our first stoma-friendly toilet facilities at London Paddington station this October. You can find them on platform 12.
There are more than are more than 200,000 people living with a stoma in the UK but accessible toilets often aren’t stoma-friendly.
We worked with charity Colostomy UK to make sure the facilities at London Paddington include features that allow you to change your stoma bag in a safe and clean environment and make the process easy. Paddington’s new facilities are stoma-friendly because they include:
- hooks to hang personal belongings
- shelves to give you a clean surface where you can put your medical supplies
- a bin inside the cubicle to dispose of used stoma bags discreetly
- a mirror so you can see your stoma while changing your bag.
Signage on the door also reminds people that not all disabilities are visible.
Sanitary products
What’s more, we’ve started stocking some of our stations with free period products to help end period poverty.
We teamed up with facilities management company Mitie to install vending machines in the public toilets at Bristol Temple Meads, Leeds, Reading and Paddington. The machines give you access to free sanitary products like pads and tampons.
A 2017 survey by Plan International UK found 10% of girls aged 14 to 21 in the UK were unable to afford sanitary products. We hope this initiative will help you travel with dignity and confidence.
It follows important work by our Property and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion teams, along with our gender equality employee network Inspire to roll out free sanitary products at some of our stations and Network Rail work sites.
You can find the products:
- in the women’s toilets in the subway and accessible toilets on platform three at Bristol Temple Meads
- in the women’s and accessible toilets on the main concourse and on the platforms at Leeds
- the women’s toilets and changing room on platform 12 at Paddington
- in the Brunel Arcade toilets at Reading.
