Hampshire railway passengers cause 30 hours of train delays from wrongly using customer alarms

That is the news from South Western Railway (SWR) which is urging people to only use customer alarms in the event of a genuine emergency.

Between December 2021 and May 2022, there were 176 incidents of customers incorrectly activating emergency alarms, causing 1,825 minutes of delays and nine service cancellations.

When an alarm is activated, the train guard must walk through the train to investigate the incident, with the train remaining at a standstill.

Christian Neill, SWR’s customer experience director, said: ‘Customer alarms should only be used in emergencies. Improper activations cause significant disruption to services, negatively impacting staff, and other customers.

‘SWR has robust measures in place to support customers who are feeling unwell or to tackle disorder. Customers in need of assistance should speak to a member of staff or contact the British Transport Police by texting 61016.’