TACKLING fare dodgers, dealing with abusive passengers and developing a feeling of safety on their trains, just some of the things rail operator c2c hopes a new dedicated policing team will help with.

The rail arm of transport company National Express has enlisted a four-strong team from the British Transport Police to help in their aim of increasing police visibility on their network and fostering a safe environment for their passengers.

One sergeant and three constables will be working across the c2c network to help reduce crime and reassure passengers.

Regular patrols on trains will be combined with special operations targeted at areas of specific interest.

Iain Palmer, c2c’s head of security, said: “It’s really important that our passengers feel safe when they’re using our services.

“That’s why we’ve introduced these officers, and they will be supported by our own roving security teams.

“From later this year we will also be staffing every station from before the first train until after the last service has departed, so c2c passengers will always have someone they can approach if they need help.”

The process of obtaining dedicated officers for the c2c line has not been a short one but November’s announcement of c2c as the London, Tilbury and Southend franchisee for the next 15 years certainly helped move things along.

There have been two high-profile incidents of crime on the line this year, with a 20-yearold being stabbed in his left hand on a train between Benfleet and Chalkwell, and a 25-yearold woman complained of being indecently touched as she slept on a London -bound train in February.

British Transport Police, with the help of CCTV on the train and a media campaign, identified a suspect in the indecent touching incident and they received a caution.

Despite these incidents, overall crime on the c2c network fell by three per cent in 2014 and both the rail operator and British Transport Police hope the trend will continue with the introduction of the new dedicated c2c team. Mr Palmer added: “From start to finish it was quite a long process, around three years, to get everything all through, but since November – when we got the 15-year franchise – we have been able to accelerate things.

“We looked at everything we had done as part of the proposal for the franchise and how we could improve on what we had done.

“We made a commitment to protecting our staff and customers from becoming victims of crime and this will certainly help.”

The team will be permanently on the c2c line, getting to know the patch, liaising with Mr Palmer and his staff and identifying areas to be worked on.

Previously, c2c were forced to share BTP officers with the Abellio Greater Anglia network, but with their teams based at Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street it made life difficult to respond to incidents on the c2c line.

Mr Palmer added: “It has been quite a challenge for BTP as well as us, these staff are in addition to the current policing levels in the area.

“We have 26 stations on our line and we need to make police as visible as possible, to act as a deterrent for crime, but also to make our passengers feel safer and this new team goes a long way towards doing that.”

The extra staff means both the rail operator and British Transport Police will be better placed to deal with large events in south Essex, such as Southend United’s upcoming play-off tie with Stevenage.

Mr Palmer also sees the partnership with British T r a n s p o r t Police leading to more targeted operations to deal with incidents of crime.He added: “One thing we have been working up is reports that our staff put in on where crimes take place.

“Sometimes there is a perception of one place being a hotspot when it actually isn’t, so we will be able to better analyse any trends.

“We have task meetings with British Transport Police and look at anything that has come up, so we will be better placed to work together and target areas we feel need attention.”