- Report reveals a number of UK rail operators are making significant strides in family-friendly improvements, with Merseyrail and LNER continuing to lead the way
- Despite progress, operators are still not addressing fundamental issues of lack of level boarding and dedicated buggy space, as well as disruption policies that recognise the needs of families
As the new school year begins, the third scorecard from the Campaign for Family Friendly Trains exposes a UK railway split between pioneering operators learning the lessons for success when it comes to catering for families travelling with young children, and others who continue to fall behind.
Investing in families is vital for rail operators’ bottom line. New government data reveals that leisure travel now accounts for 54% of all train journeys – far outstripping work travel at just 30%. While a few operators have proven that comprehensive family-friendly design is achievable if prioritised, the majority appear to show a worrying disregard for families, not just failing current passengers but missing a major commercial opportunity.
The campaign’s scorecard assesses 23 rail operators from across the UK on a number of family-friendly criteria, covering on-train facilities, station accessibility, support services, and information provision. Since the previous scorecard in 2023, the response rate to the assessment has dramatically improved as a growing number of operators recognise the importance of investing in families.
However, this is a tale of two railways: while there are two clear leaders and a growing group of operators beginning to make marginal improvements, five of the country’s major operators serving significant portions of the network continue to refuse to even respond to the questionnaire.
Key Findings:
- Response rate improved from 48% in 2023 to 78% in 2025, with 18 out of 23 operators participating, suggesting greater industry awareness
- Merseyrail sets new standard with 8/10 score, demonstrating comprehensive family-friendly design
- LNER maintains leadership among long-distance operators with 6.5/10
- Critical gaps remain with only 2 operators providing adequate buggy space and just one achieving level boarding; 72% have no family disruption policies
- Five operators refused to engage: c2c, Govia Thameslink Railway, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, and TfL Rail
Standout Successes:
Merseyrail’s exceptional performance included full marks for dedicated buggy spaces with nearby seating and being the only operator to achieve comprehensive level boarding from train to platform – marking a real revolution in accessibility on a local network.
LNER continued to lead among long-distance operators, excelling in staff training and demonstrating good practice as one of only two operators with family-specific disruption policies. As LNER has signed our Family Friendly Pledge to never order a new train without providing dedicated space for unfolded buggies we hope to see its score rising even further in future.
There are encouraging signs from a number of other operators committing to progress in some areas, such as dedicated priority pushchair areas (London Overground), offering passenger assist services to parents travelling solo with young children (Eurostar, Southeastern, Transport for Wales) and advertising multi-use spaces to parents with buggies (West Midlands Railway).
In addition, a number of operators (ScotRail, Southeastern, Transpennine Express) indicated their ambition to include dedicated space for unfolded pushchairs in designs for future trains. While this will take some years to come to fruition, it is encouraging to see operators finally factoring the needs of families into rolling stock design.
Persistent Problems:
Despite some progress, fundamental issues remain largely unaddressed, and most operators have made no noticeable progress since 2023.
Only 2 out of 18 responding operators scored full marks for buggy space provision, a fundamental requirement for travel with young children. Most operators continue to direct parents and carers to wheelchair spaces, pitting non-disabled families unnecessarily against disabled passengers.
Comprehensive level boarding remains available from just one operator (Merseyrail) across their entire network, despite the obvious accessibility benefits. The persistent reliance on staff-operated ramps ignores the reality that staff are often unavailable, leaving solo parents in particular facing safety hazards when boarding.
All rail passengers are aware that sometimes journeys do not go as planned – however, 72% of operators who responded to the survey do not have disruption policies that account for the specific needs of families with young children, for example recognising the need for accessible alternative transport when many families travelling by train will not necessarily have access to car seats.
Quote from Campaign for Family-Friendly Trains:
“This year’s results show an industry at a junction. Operators like Merseyrail and LNER are proving that family-friendly design isn’t just possible – it can be profitable. Meanwhile, major operators continue treating families as an afterthought despite families driving their revenues.
“There is no excuse for inaction. The question is no longer whether comprehensive family-friendly rail travel is possible, but which operators will seize the opportunity and which will be left behind.”
Looking Forward:
The scorecard demonstrates that every assessed category has at least one operator achieving top marks, proving solutions are readily available. While some of these more significant improvements cannot happen overnight – operators may only purchase new trains once a decade, and changes to level boarding infrastructure require significant investment – quick wins are possible.
We call on operators to focus on the benefits of improved staff training, better signage and disruption policies that consider the needs of passengers of all ages – and to sign our Family Friendly Pledge, committing to never order new trains without dedicated buggy spaces separate from areas protected by law for wheelchair users.
The technology exists, successful models are in operation, and the business case is clear. Family-friendly rail travel isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s essential for the industry’s future.
ENDS
Notes to Editor
https://familyfriendlytrains.com/ / @trains_for_kids
The Campaign for Family-Friendly Trains was set up by frustrated parents who had had disappointing experiences travelling on Britain’s railway with young children. They have met with train operating companies, rolling stock operating companies and train manufacturers, as well as the Rail Delivery Group and the Department for Transport.
The campaign’s main requests are:
- Dedicated space for unfolded prams on trains
- Extension of the seat reservation system to include the space for unfolded prams
- Clean, reliable and spacious toilets with baby changing facilities and toddler toilet seats
- Extension of Passenger Assist to families travelling with young children
- Step free access to the platform and level boarding between the platform and train
About the scorecard
In May 2025, we invited 23 train operating companies across the UK rail network to complete a self-assessment against ten family-friendly criteria, including on-board facilities, services available at stations, support provided for families, and information provided to families.
The scorecard table along with links to the questions and scoring matrix can be found on our website. The questions and methodology remain the same as the 2023 scorecard, enabling a direct comparison of results.
Responses and self assessment scores were gathered between May and July 2025. Up to one point could be allocated for each question, and the maximum number of points that could be scored was ten. In some cases it was necessary to adjust the self-assessed score provided by the operator to align with the scoring matrix and similar answers from other operators.
We sent each operator who had responded to the questionnaire their final score before publication. This provided an opportunity for the operator to provide additional information. Follow up emails were sent to those companies that failed to respond.
The scorecard will be published on the campaign’s website: www.familyfriendlytrains.com
For information and interviews
contact@familyfriendlytrains.com