Holidaymakers travelling to Luton Airport by train this summer are being urged to take extra care as comedian and actress Diane Morgan fronts a new rail safety campaign aimed at preventing avoidable injuries.
Greater Thameslink Railway (GTR), which operates Thameslink services to Luton Airport Parkway, has launched a renewed safety appeal ahead of one of the airport’s busiest periods of the year.
The operator says there have been 93 reports of people falling while trying to board trains so far this year – a 43 per cent increase compared with 2025.
It has released CCTV images showing passengers attempting to board as train doors are closing, warning that such behaviour can lead to serious injuries or even people falling onto the tracks.
GTR says running for trains, trying to board after the doors have started closing and taking luggage or pushchairs on escalators are among the most common causes of accidents at stations.
The advice forms part of the operator’s rail safety campaign fronted by Morgan, which highlights the simple steps passengers can take to avoid injury while travelling.
The safety message comes as Luton Airport prepares for another busy August, with around 68,000 to 68,500 passengers expected to travel through the airport on both 9 and 16 August. Around 360 flights are scheduled on each of those days.
Despite the increase in boarding incidents, GTR says overall slips, trips and falls across its network have fallen by 5 per cent since the launch of its Travel Safe campaign earlier this year.
Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for GTR, said: “Travelling by train alleviates the stress of traffic and means your holiday can get started even earlier, but not if you end up injuring yourself on the journey.
“With lots of people travelling this summer who may not be familiar with our trains or our stations, we are taking the opportunity to share essential travel advice so that people take extra care. It’s positive to see an overall reduction in accidents across our network, but we really want to see a reduction in those attempting to jump on a train as the doors are closing as it results in completely avoidable injury.
“If your summer trip involves the train, please plan your journey and leave extra time for travelling so you don’t feel the need to rush.”
Passengers travelling to Luton Airport can use Thameslink’s direct services from London St Pancras, with journeys taking as little as 22 minutes to Luton Airport Parkway before transferring to the airport via the DART shuttle.
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