If you lived in London in the 1950s and 60s, you may remember ‘ladies only’ carriages on trains, marked by green signs to distinguish them from the red smokers’ sections.
They operated from as far back as the 1840s, and by the 1850s, South Eastern had a rule that a ‘carriage is always reserved for ladies if required’.
A 1936 Great Western Railway rulebook required guards to inform any unaccompanied women that the ‘ladies-only’ compartments were available.
But by the 1960s, they were much rarer to spot, existing mainly on suburban lines and the replacement of compartments with open carriages rendered them impractical.
In March 1977, The Times reported that British Rail was phasing out its remaining ‘ladies only’ compartments. At the time, around 100 still existed on services between London and Essex.
The compartments were mainly found on older ‘slam door’ trains, and the abolition marked the end of a long-standing tradition.
But now, almost five decades after their abolition, a 21-year-old UCL student has launched a campaign calling for women-only carriages on the tube.
Camille Brown’s petition urges Sadiq Khan and TfL to ‘do more to protect women’ after saying harassment on public transport has become a ‘growing issue’ in the capital.
Camille Brown’s petition urges Sadiq Khan and TfL to ‘do more to protect women’ after saying harassment on public transport has become a ‘growing issue’ in the capital
If you lived in London in the 1950s and 60s, you may remember ‘ladies only’ carriages on trains, marked by green signs to distinguish them from the red smokers’ sections.
With a change.org petition signed by more than 12,000 people and the attention of the London Mayor, Camille is asking that at least one dedicated women-only carriage be introduced on every tube line in an attempt to curb gender-based harassment on the underground.
The latest Girlguiding survey found that more than half of girls and young women aged 11 to 21 feel unsafe travelling alone on public transport.
It comes as there were 2,671 sexual offences across TFL services between 2023 and 2024, not including those that went unreported to the police. This marks a 10.5 per cent increase from the previous years.
But the idea of gender segregated carriages has been met with some criticism.
Journalist Ben Kentish wrote on X: ‘Women-only Tube carriages is a gimmick “solution” to a problem that deserves much deeper and more serious thinking from leaders. Poor.’
Another user wrote: ‘This again. It’s a sign of how bad things are that we start talking about segregation.
‘Women-only carriages will be a target, the space for waiting for them will be a target.
‘How about tube staff and a society that demands the bare minimum from men not to harass and assault women.’
A 1936 Great Western Railway rulebook required guards to inform any unaccompanied women that the ‘ladies-only’ compartments were available
In cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, these particular trains can be identified by pink or purple signs on the train doors and specific markings on the floor
Women-only carriages have already been implemented in a number of countries. Japan, for example, introduced women-only train cars in the early 2000s to combat sexual harassment.
In cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, these particular trains can be identified by pink or purple signs on the train doors and specific markings on the floor.
In the UK, there have been some improvements made to try and help women and girls feel safer on public transport.
In November 2024, the Met installed CCTV cameras at a further 15 bus shelters across the city, focusing on quiet locations with a high footfall and a history of reported crime.
Shortly after Camille’s petition went live, Transport for London announced that it would not be considering women-only tube carriages.
Siwan Hayward, TfL’s director of security, policing and enforcement, made a statement noting how the priority is to work closely with the police and use intelligence to determine hot spots and target repeat offenders.
The statement read: ‘We do not support any proposal for female-only train carriages on TfL services, but instead are working closely with the police to ensure our capital’s transport network is a hostile place for offenders, including the use of intelligence-led policing operations to target offenders and hotspot locations.’
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