Railway lines have been crisscrossing the country, delivering both passengers and freight to their destinations for 200 years. The UK boasts a huge rail network with over 2,500 mainline stations and approximately 20,000 miles of track.
Operating in almost all weather, public trains carried passengers on 1.83 billion journeys from April 2025 to March 2026. For the busiest of stations, London Liverpool Street, that means almost 100 million people move through it every year on their journey.
In above-ground stations, regardless of how busy they are, one of the challenges is to keep those millions of passengers safe on their travels.
What type of flooring is used in train stations?
When designing and building a public railway station, certain regulations are in place. Network Rail, who own the train lines and 2,500 stations, provides guidance on the specification of flooring.
The guidance promotes customer safety, accessibility and comfort when choosing surfaces for a new station or replacing older floors. The three main public areas it focuses on are concourse, platforms and washrooms. The guidance states that floor installations should be:
- Slip resistant
- Reliable and durable
- Easy to clean and low maintenance
- Fit for purpose
Finding a balance that satisfies the benchmarks for these factors can be difficult. Various flooring types can be used.
For outdoor or platform areas, hard-wearing resin slurry or glass-reinforced polymers are often used for heavy footfall, or metal grating or durbar steel plating might be used.
For concourses, washrooms and atrium areas, resin or epoxy might be used for a non-slip surface, or vinyl tiles which are easier to clean.
For historic stations, older flooring materials might be used, such as durable ceramic tiles or wood block parquetry floors, in keeping with the original design.
However, despite the slip-resistant nature of many of these flooring materials, the stations are at the mercy of rain, snow and ice, which can be hazardous to passengers hurrying to and from their trains.
How does matting improve safety in train stations?
To prevent slips and falls, and to keep stations cleaner and more comfortable for passengers, entrance matting can be used. Mud, debris and rainwater are often a cause of accidents on railway concourses, where passengers have tracked in dirt and moisture on their shoes.
Entrance matting can provide a barrier, preventing much of the water and debris from entering the main buildings by scraping the footwear and absorbing moisture.
According to Network Rail guidance, recessed or flush-fitted mat wells are ideal so that the risk of trips is also reduced. The same applies to wheelchairs, prams and trolleys, where wheels could get stuck in the grooves of matting and cause accidents.
A combination of primary and secondary barrier matting can work together at external access points and entrances to retail or washroom areas.
For example, Gradus barrier matting such as the Esplanade system uses a mix of aluminium scrapers and textile to remove and hold substances on passengers’ shoes before entering the building.
This can be used alongside a textile-based secondary matting for the inside of entrance ways to remove any remaining dampness and prevent slippery floors.
Each railway station is architecturally unique and entrance matting should be specified to suit the exact needs of the building. For expert advice on entrance matting that meets industry regulations, get in touch with our team.