GTR and Diane Morgan deliver a hilarious safety campaign, highlighting everyday risky behaviours and encouraging passengers to travel safely.
To encourage customers to slow down and travel safely, the UK’s largest train operator has taken an unconventional approach. Partnering with award-winning comedian Diane Morgan, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has launched its first-ever train safety film. ‘Travel Safe with Diane Morgan’ blends humour with a serious message: the small risks we take in a hurry can have real consequences.
For anyone who regularly uses the railway, the idea behind the film will feel familiar. The internal monologue that kicks in when a train is about to depart – that persuasive voice urging you to pick up the pace – is something most passengers will recognise. Whether it’s breaking into a sprint as the doors begin to close or wrestling a suitcase onto a crowded escalator, these behaviours have become almost normalised across the network.
However, beneath that sense of routine lies a concerning reality. According to new research commissioned by GTR, almost one third (31%) of UK passengers admit that their ‘inner voice’ has encouraged them to take risks at stations. These aren’t isolated incidents or occasional lapses in judgement – they are everyday behaviours, repeated thousands of times across the network, often without a second thought.
Each year, around 800 preventable injuries occur across GTR’s network alone, many of them linked to exactly these kinds of actions. While individually these moments may seem minor, collectively they represent a significant safety challenge for the industry.
A fresh approach
Instead of leaning on the usual warnings and signage, GTR has taken a different route to tackle this problem. By using humour and relatable, everyday situations, its new campaign encourages people to pause and reflect, rather than simply telling them what to do.
Diane Morgan, best known for her deadpan delivery and sharply observed comedy, is central to that approach. In the film, she plays a version of herself caught in the all-too-familiar scenarios faced by rail passengers. Viewers see her on the verge of committing classic station sins, only to be interrupted at the crucial moment.
What you get is a series of moments that feel familiar, handled with just enough humour to stop it feeling preachy. It’s less about telling passengers off, and more about helping them see themselves in the situation.
And that balance matters. Safety campaigns can sometimes struggle to land, particularly when audiences feel they are being lectured or when the messaging is too generic. This campaign takes a more honest approach, recognising that people are busy and often under pressure, and that these split-second decisions usually come from rushing rather than any real intent to take risks.
Morgan herself leans into the humour of the concept. Commenting on the campaign, she said: “As has been well publicised, I have always been a strong advocate for rail safety. Unlike some of my comedy contemporaries, who would love to see passengers fall down stairs or get their head trapped in the closing doors, I have always made it quite clear that rail safety is my number one priority. These short films are the culmination of my life’s work. Enjoy them.”
The awareness gap
The research underpinning the campaign highlights a notable gap between perception and behaviour, showing that a significant proportion of passengers appear unaware of the risks associated with actions they regularly take. For example, nearly a third of those surveyed (32%) did not realise that running for a train could be unsafe, while more than a quarter (27%) were unaware of the dangers linked to taking heavy luggage or buggies onto escalators.
This lack of awareness is compounded by a disconnect between what people observe and what they admit to doing themselves. One in four (25%) passengers say they have witnessed someone getting caught in train doors, yet only 7% admit to having done so. It’s a familiar pattern in safety culture: behaviours that are easy to recognise in others, but harder to acknowledge personally.
There is also a strong element of social judgement attached to these actions. More than three-quarters (79%) of respondents described getting stuck in train doors as embarrassing, while nearly half (47%) said the same about running for a train. In other words, while these behaviours are common, they are not widely approved of – even by those who occasionally engage in them.
This tension between behaviour and perception presents an opportunity. If passengers already recognise these actions as undesirable, then shifting behaviour may be less about introducing new information and more about reinforcing existing instincts – giving people permission to slow down.
That’s where the campaign’s tone becomes particularly effective. By presenting these moments in an amusing but honest way, it encourages self-recognition without defensiveness. Viewers are invited to see themselves in the situation, laugh at it, and, crucially, reconsider it.
Samantha Facey, health, safety and security director at GTR, emphasises this point: “Most injuries we see from these behaviours are preventable and we’re committed to helping our customers travel safely. We know that people are busy, journeys can be rushed, and some of these habits are so ingrained that they stop feeling like risks at all.
“That’s exactly why we needed a different approach, and working with Diane gave us something powerful – a chance to make people laugh at behaviour they might recognise in themselves, and in doing so, genuinely think twice. We want customers to pause, take their time, and travel safely, and I hope this film is a step towards that.”
The human factor
There is also broader lesson here for the rail industry. Safety is not solely about infrastructure, technology, or procedures – although all remain critical. It is also about human behaviour and the small decisions made by passengers every day.
Changing those behaviours is rarely straightforward. It’s about more than information – it requires engagement, relevance, and creativity. Campaigns like this suggest a shift in how operators are approaching that challenge. Rather than relying on traditional messaging alone, there is a growing recognition of the role that storytelling, humour, and cultural relevance can play in shaping safer habits.
For passengers, the message is simple. Allow a little more time, resist the urge to rush, and accept that while missing a train is an inconvenience, an injury can be far more serious.
Image credit: GTR / Amit Lennon Photography
