RAIL passengers have an extra safety precaution in Wales - with conductors provided with body cameras.

Transport for Wales employees will be given Axon Body 2 cameras after a successful trial last year, with the cameras providing evidence of railway offences.

There will also be more than 250 cameras across 15 key locations along the network, including Cardiff and Swansea.

Chris Watkins, Transport for Wales’ continuous improvement manager, said: “While the railway is already a very safe environment to travel in, we want to give our customers and colleagues that added piece of mind that their safety comes first.

"Axon cameras will also add transparency to ensure any incident claims can be quickly and accurately verified.

“Body cameras are proven to be incredibly effective in lowering crime rates both because they are a deterrent and because the evidence they help us gather is so good that it is often key in helping the police secure successful convictions.

“We chose a supplier after working closely with our front-line colleagues to find the right product, and this investment will really help us to work closer with our British Transport Police partners to build a safer railway for everyone.”

All data captured by the cameras, which are used by law enforcement agencies, transport operators and public sector organisations around the world, is stored and handled securely with British Transport Police, in line with GDPR regulations.

The cameras will be in service in the coming weeks and months.

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British Transport Police superintendent Andy Morgan said: “The safety of passengers and our rail industry colleagues is our absolute priority, and we do everything we can to protect them.

“We fully support the introduction of body worn cameras for Transport for Wales’ frontline staff - we know from experience that body worn video is a fantastic piece of kit that helps us in securing convictions against those who target staff with unnecessary violence or abuse.

“We hope the introduction will deter anti-social behaviour and provide reassurance to rail staff as well as passengers.

“Fortunately, these types of incidents are few and far between, however if anyone has any concerns while travelling, they can text us on 61016.”

Joshua Hopkins, a former British Transport Police sergeant and current TfW operational resilience manager, said: “Having used the Axon camera in my former role I can’t speak highly enough of the quality and benefits this piece of equipment brings.

"It has a huge deterrent effect on people’s behaviour and can provide confidence and reassurance when dealing with incidents.

“I would urge colleagues to use these cameras as often as they can as they will play a vital role in keeping people safe.

“Prosecution cases often come down to one word against the other but having the event captured on camera can help those cases get through the courts.

"It is easy to use and during my time using it I did not get called to court to give evidence as they could see first hand what had happened.

“The fact that we can now share vital evidence in a seamless way with BTP shows our commitment to partnership working, supporting out frontline colleagues, and making out network a safer place.”

Axon’s general manager, Mike Shore, said: “We are excited to partner with TfW as they lead the way with an implementation of connected body cameras and innovative technology.

“By taking full advantage of the Axon network, TfW is creating a seamless partnership between transportation security and law enforcement such as the British Transport Police for sharing evidence to ensure transparency and continuity."