Great Western Coffee Shop

Photography

You can take photographs at stations provided you do not sell them. However, you are not allowed to take photographs of security related equipment, such as CCTV cameras.

Flash photography on platforms is not allowed at any time. It can distract train drivers & train despatch staff and so is potentially very dangerous.

Tripod legs must be kept away from platform edges and behind the yellow lines. On busy stations, you may not be allowed to use a tripod because it could be a dangerous obstruction to passengers.

Persistent or aggressive photography of a single individual may come under the legal definition of harassment

Filming in a public place is legal.  It might not be polite but it is legal.   A station counts as a public place, but presumably a member of staff could ask a person with no intention of travelling (loitering) to leave and failure to comply with such a request is I think a by-law request.

AIUI,  you could walk into an estate agents or shop and film the staff, but they could ask you to leave.

GUIDELINES FOR FILMING / PHOTOGRAPHY ON FIRST GREAT WESTERN (FGW)
PROPERTY OR TRAINS

General points
FGW^s service to their customers will always remain the priority when considering filming requests.
FGW reserves the right to interrupt or halt any filming and photography in progress without notice.
FGW train and station jurisdiction covers the following areas: trains & stations on all parts of the FGW network with the exception of London Paddington Station and stations in Wales.
Customers/staff may not be filmed or interviewed without the prior written permission of FGW.
Branding and signage of business partners must not be filmed without the permission of the business concerned.

Scheduling
FGW have identifiably busy times of the year when filming requests cannot be considered.  These are primarily December (when the new timetables are introduced) and January (when the new fares are announced.)   Outside those periods filming requests will be considered and local Station Managers consulted over preferred dates.  An example when filming at, for instance Bristol Temple Meads, would be refused is on a weekend when there is an event at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff due to the high volume of customers using the station.
Filming and photography will be discouraged during busy peak times 07.00 ^ 10.00 and 16.00 ^ 19.00 Monday ^ Fridays.  We try to discourage filming work at the weekends due to engineering works, however these are organised some time in advance and advice can be given on this.
Start and end times for filming must be agreed in advance and must be strictly adhered to.

Health & Safety
FGW may occasionally require film crews to be accompanied by an escort from FGW and the production will be required to pay for this in addition to the agreed filming fee.
Health and Safety requirements must be complied with at all times. A full risk assessment must be undertaken by the film company and this assessment plus plans and filming schedules must be submitted in advance.
Safety briefings are mandatory prior to any filming / photography being allowed and productions/companies must allocate the appropriate time within their filming schedule for this to happen.  All members of the production team must attend this briefing; failure to do this will mean that they cannot be part of the crew working on FGW property.
A copy of your insurance policy must be submitted. A level of ^5 million is required, with no exceptions.
For safety reasons the use of film lights of any kind shall not be permitted on FGW property or trains. 
Tripods and camera track may be allowed by discussion with the Press Office and Station Manager and staff, but are generally discouraged,
No trailing cables that might create a trip-hazard will be allowed and normal safe working practice should be followed at all times.

Other points:
Filming on a train will usually be arranged to take place in carriage H (First Class carriage on high-speed trains (HST) in order to minimise disruption to our customers.  It is unlikely filming will be permitted on other types of train.
Filming fees will be negotiated on an individual basis and will depend on the type of production.  It is FGW^s policy that all filming fees will be paid to green or children^s charities.
FGW would appreciate contact with the production / company after filming / photography so that they can be kept informed over transmission / publication dates of material shot on their property / trains.  When possible a DVD copy of material shot should be provided so that it can be internally promoted.  Feedback from shoots would also be much appreciated.
To book filming, A minimum of 10 working days notice is required for photographic / documentary shoots.
      A minimum of 15 working days notice is required for drama / feature film requests.

For further information please complete the Initial Enquiry Form and return it to:
John Ratchford
Press Officer
First Great Western Communications
Macmillan House
Paddington Station
LONDON
W2 1FT
 (t)  0845 410 4444
(e) john.ratchford@firstgroup.com

Why can't you take photos of CCTV cameras? Obviously, no-one normally would want to, but it seems like paranoia to me.

What about armed police at stations? Does it make the station safer from suicide bomber? Does it re-assure or scare the public?

Debatable where the line should be drawn.

AIUI,  Filming in a public place is legal.  It might not be polite but it is legal.   A station counts as a public place, but presumably a member of staff could ask a person with no intention of travelling (loitering) to leave and failure to comply with such a request is I think a by-law request.

AIUI,  you could walk into an estate agents or shop and film the staff, but they could ask you to leave.

I take the view that I wouldn't be too keen to be filmed or photographed when I am at work without being asked first. 

To shed some more light on this matter, a passenger arrived with no ticket or money and details were taken to process a TIR, parent then arrived with ticket and TIR was binned with no further action - parent then still persued matter and filmed member of staff even when.asked to stop also claiming he had every right as he was a police officer. 

also claiming he had every right as he was a police officer. 

If I remember correctly it is a "Travel Irregularity Report" - it's something that can be forwarded on to revenue protection to deal with.

MG11 = Form to take a statement for use in court
PACE = Police & Criminal Evidence Act

Police clarify train photography rules following "arrest" claim

The rules on train photography have been clarified after it was claimed that a student had been arrested for taking a photograph of a train as she could have been part of a "terrorist plot".

Following the Epsom Guardian^s online story of the alleged arrest at Tattenham Corner Station, British Transport Police (BTP) received a number of enquiries about when it is illegal to take photographs at train stations.

Chris Ward overheard a woman saying that a student taking photographs for a school project was arrested at the station and the photos deleted from her camera as ^she could have been part of a terrorist cell plotting some form of attack on the train^.

But BTP said no record was generated of the alleged incident.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Wratten said: "We have taken the suggestion that an individual was arrested for photography on the railway extremely seriously.

"Had this arrest taken place it would have generated a report, however, we have searched all BTP systems, those of the Metropolitan Police Service and Surrey Police for the last 12 months and can find no record which confirms this allegation.

"There are no powers prohibiting the taking of photographs, film or digital images in a public place.

"Therefore members of the public and press should not be prevented from doing so.

"Moreover the rail network often attracts rail enthusiasts and amateur photographers and we, alongside the rail industry, recognise their valuable role in the railway community.

"If someone is taking photographs on the rail network they may be spoken to by a member of rail staff or a police officer but we encourage this engagement because photographers and their images play a vital role in helping us identify criminals and providing information.

"The rail network is a CCTV-rich environment, and this, combined with images sent to us by members of the pubic, means that we have great success in detecting crime."

A BTP spokeswoman added that a person may be stopped under terrorism laws, but no record of an arrest on this basis was generated either.

She said: "A police officer may stop and search someone under section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000 providing that they reasonably suspect that the person is a terrorist.

"Under section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a person can be searched to discover whether or not they have in their possession anything which may constitute evidence that they are a terrorist.

"This power may be used at any time or in any place when the threshold of reasonable suspicion that the person is a terrorist is met. No specific authorisation is required."

For further guidance visit http://www.btp.police.uk/passengers/advice_and_information/rail_enthusiasts.aspx

This is my personal opinion - not an official forum stance:

I'd suggest filming it, perhaps discreetly, and then offering it as witness evidence to the police officer's colleagues when they arrived.

Do not, however, post it on youtube first.  ::)

Chris from Nailsea.

To shed some more light on this matter, a passenger arrived with no ticket or money and details were taken to process a TIR, parent then arrived with ticket and TIR was binned with no further action - parent then still persued matter and filmed member of staff even when.asked to stop also claiming he had every right as he was a police officer. 

I'm going to start this post by typing "but I didn't"

I had been following updates on this thread today and this was still at the back of my mind when I changed trains at reading - from p4 to p7 . On the way to the western end of p7 (to catch the 17:36) there was a BTP official apparently being verbally abused by a member of the public.

I did wonder if there would be any justification for recording this abuse as possible evidence but (a) I didn't think it was my place (b) I didnt think the BTP officer would appreciate it and (c) I am fairly certain the member of the public involved certainly would not approve and it probably would have made matters worse.

I'm just wondering in anyone else here has ever recorded such an incident or been tempted to ?

To shed some more light on this matter, a passenger arrived with no ticket or money and details were taken to process a TIR, parent then arrived with ticket and TIR was binned with no further action - parent then still persued matter and filmed member of staff even when.asked to stop also claiming he had every right as he was a police officer. 

Good grief - why worry about getting other people out of the shot and asking permission? I never do! And I never worry about being in other peoples' photos either. :o I've never asked for permission myself and never will. Ditto I have never been asked for permission by someone else, and will never expect to be!

The photos are for my own personal use and may be shared with family and friends on paper or online. No-one cares if a random person is in the background. When I look at other peoples' photos, I'm not interested at the man tying his shoelace in the corner! I never ask whether they asked for permission - I'd get strange looks if I did...

Lets reduce the paranoia! 8)

With children, it's obviously different. Nevertheless, if you take a snap at a busy tourist location and a child happens to be in the corner having an ice cream- it's not the end of the world. As for that DM story, the others need to chill out - believe it or not most fathers with children are not a paedophile.

If the photos are for something other than "personal use" - get permission.

Although I do try to avoid having people in the pictures at all, as I feel that they spoil a good phot  ;D

To shed some more light on this matter, a passenger arrived with no ticket or money and details were taken to process a TIR, parent then arrived with ticket and TIR was binned with no further action - parent then still persued matter and filmed member of staff even when.asked to stop also claiming he had every right as he was a police officer. 

Wouldn't that be deemed as a police officier abusing his position somewhat? I would have thought if he used that as an excuse either the company or the union should persue this with the Devon and Cornwall police?

The fact is now however with the advent of camera phones etc some members of the public will attempt to film their conversations with the staff in support of any greivance that they may have with the company. However I believe doing so and justifying this by saying you are employed as a policeman is bascially wrong, particularly as the police do not seem to have been involved in the initial incident.