Why rail staff are wearing 'I am someone’s mum' badges

London North Eastern Railway launched the campaign to tackle anti-social rudeness.

The 'Be Kind' crusade now includes partners from the wider rail industry with station and on-board staff wearing a range of goodwill badges.

Featuring phrases such as ”I am someone’s mum” and ”I am someone’s brother,” they have been designed to humanise the wearer and remind those they interact with they are more than "just a uniform".

LNER colleagues across the East Coast route began to wear the Be Kind badges last month, continuing to wear them into this year as the team look to understand the impact badges have in reducing anti-social behaviour.

In addition to the badge designs that focus on the wearer’s family relationships, there is also a range featuring illustrated animals such as a lion alongside the words "Please don’t roar at me" to help the drive test a number of different approaches.

LNER Customer Experience Director Claire Ansley said: “Having seen the impact that anti-social and rude behaviour can have on our customers and colleagues, it was important that we took action to form LNER’s Be Kind campaign.

"As a first step, our new range of badges are a simple way for us to support our station and on-board teams while out and about.

"We’re already seeing they are generating a lot of positive conversations with customers.”

In addition to the badges trial, LNER is continuing to work with other rail companies to explore further ways to encourage more kindness on our railways.