Boost to promote 61016 on rail network as new livery unveiled

GB Railfreight (GBRf), a UK transporter of goods for businesses and consumers, has unveiled a special livery for one of its locomotives in collaboration with British Transport Police (BTP) at Waterloo Station.

At the ceremony, GBRf’s CEO John Smith OBE and Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan of BTP highlighted the impact that network disruption has for passengers and businesses.

Criminal disruption, in its many forms – from trespass to theft to vandalism – cost the rail industry over £150 million last year. BTP strive to reduce the cost of criminality on the rails and it is hoped the locomotive will act as a visual deterrent for trespass and criminality.

The idea for the livery was created by PC Ian Kennerley of BTP and GBRf Train Manager, Bessie Smith, who felt that the 016 unique identifier of the locomotive aligned perfectly to BTP’s famous text number for reporting non-emergency incidents – 61016. In 2024, BTP received around 250,000 text messages from concerned rail users to the 61016 number.

“We’re proud to partner with BTP to help raise awareness that if members of the public witness a non-emergency incident they should report by texting 61016 and minimise disruption.”

John Smith OBE, Chief Executive Officer, GB Railfreight

The locomotive, which bears the BTP logo and traditional police colours, will join GBRf’s fleet in the coming weeks and will be seen by passengers across the rail network moving a wide range of commodities.

Assistant Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, Sean O’Callaghan, said: “This year we celebrate 200 years of the British railway system. This new livery is an excellent way to recognise BTP’s presence on the network. The branded locomotive will showcase our widely used 61016 text service which since introduction has received almost 1.2 million texts.”

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This year, British Transport Police became the first UK force to utilise remote ‘drone in a box’ capability. Read all about it here.