GB Railfreight and British Transport Police unveil bespoke new livery to promote rail safety

Today, GB Railfreight (GBRf), the leading UK transporter of goods for businesses and consumers, has unveiled a special livery for one of its locomotives in collaboration with British Transport Police (BTP) at Waterloo Station.

At the ceremony, GBRf’s CEO John Smith OBE and Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan of BTP highlighted the impact that network disruption has for everyone – passengers, businesses and even those at home waiting for online deliveries are affected by delays.

Criminal disruption, in its many forms – from trespass to theft to vandalism – cost the rail industry over £150 million last year.[1] BTP work tirelessly to reduce the cost of criminality on the rails and it is hoped the locomotive will act as a visual deterrent for trespass and criminality.

The idea for the livery was created by PC Ian Kennerley of BTP and GBRf Train Manager, Bessie Smith, who felt that the 016 unique identifier of the locomotive aligned perfectly to BTP’s famous text number for reporting non-emergency incidents – 61016. In 2024,  BTP received c.250,000 text messages from concerned rail users.

The locomotive, which bears the BTP logo and traditional police colours, will join GBRf’s fleet in the coming weeks and will be seen by passengers across the rail network moving a wide range of commodities. Rail freight moves 69 million tonnes of goods worth £25 billion each year – materials vital for construction, clean energy, aviation, manufacturing and consumer retail across the country.

John Smith OBE, Chief Executive Officer, GB Railfreight, said; “Rail freight plays an important role in transporting key goods across the country. Disruption on the rail network can negatively affect businesses and customers nationwide.

“We’re proud to partner with BTP to help raise awareness that if members of the public witness a non-emergency incident they should report by texting 61016 and minimise disruption.”

Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan, British Transport Police said; “This year we celebrate 200 years of the British railway system. This new livery is an excellent way to recognise BTP’s presence on the network. The branded locomotive will showcase our widely used 61016 text service which since introduction has received almost 1.2 million texts.

“BTP strive to reduce disruption on the network but hope the public can act as our eyes and ears. If they see something that doesn’t look right or suspect criminality is affecting the rail network, we encourage them to report it to us on the text number 61016.”

[1] April 2024 – March 2025