Drivers put rail bosses “on notice” over toilet break failures
ASLEF has warned it is “putting the industry on notice” after train operators failed to act on a year-old regulator instruction to guarantee drivers access to toilet breaks.
A year ago, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) told train operating companies to give drivers proper access to toilet and hygiene facilities. The instruction followed ASLEF’s Dignity for Drivers campaign, which surveyed more than 3,000 drivers and ran focus groups to document the problem.
Drivers described changing sanitary products in their cabs, leaving trains to urinate alongside the track and using makeshift containers. Many said they feared discipline or investigation if they asked signallers or managers for an emergency break.
A year on, despite the ORR’s instruction that operators implement a welfare charter guaranteeing “safe, clean, accessible and dignified” toilets and a four-hour maximum without a break, train companies have refused to act – and ASLEF has had enough.
The union says it is “putting the industry on notice”. Quoted in the Guardian this week, general secretary Dave Calfe said ASLEF wants action, not broken promises, on toilet facilities and break times. “The health and wellbeing of our members is not a price we are prepared to pay for the inaction of the industry,” he said.
The ORR’s annual report, published this month, admits progress has been uneven and industry momentum has slowed, citing barriers around “coordination, shared access to facilities and consistent delivery”.
That drivers still lack adequate toilet access in 2026 is shocking – and it’s a health and safety issue. Conditions including deep vein thrombosis, bladder problems, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer have all been linked to a lack of toilet breaks. “Drivers are still paying with their health for industry inaction,” Calfe said. “The industry and the government cannot continue failing the workforce on the most basic level and we need action now.”
ASLEF’s Dignity for Drivers campaign is calling for:
- A maximum of four hours without toilet access, as standard, industry-wide.
- Safe, clean, accessible and dignified toilet and welfare facilities across the network.
- Drivers able to go to the toilet based on personal need, free from management interference, discrimination or discipline.
- Free sanitary products provided by all operators, available network-wide.
The ball is now in the operators’ court. ASLEF is standing firm and on an issue this basic, any action by drivers is likely to carry strong public support.
That train operators are still dragging their feet on something this fundamental only strengthens the case for taking the railways back into public ownership. PM Andy Burnham has argued for moving the system from deregulation to public control, backing nationalisation of passenger services under Great British Railways while stressing a continuing role for mayoral authorities and integrated transport networks.
Subscribe to our regular updates to receive the latest articles, analysis and news direct to your inbox at https://theleftlane.media/subscribe/
First published on theleftlane.media on 28 July 2026.
Left Field · Contributor
Left Field staff writers
This article was written by a staff writer or a group of writers from Left Field.
