It is the annual Samaritans Awareness Day today (Friday 24 July), and West Midlands Railway (WMR) is reminding passengers they do not have to face their problems alone.

Over this weekend, West Midlands Railway is providing Samaritans volunteers with free passes to travel on its trains, where they will raise awareness of the charity and its work among passengers.

Many railway organisations, including WMR and Network Rail, have been working with Samaritans for several years, to ensure that passengers know about the support that the organisation offers to people who are struggling with their mental health.

Railway organisations organise suicide prevention training for railway staff, and signpost vulnerable individuals to mental health services.

Samaritans began working with Network Rail in 2015, and since then has trained 38,000 rail staff. This training led to 2,129 life-saving interventions on the railway last year.

WMR opened its first mental health hub at Wolverhampton station in 2025. More than two thousand people visited in its first year. WMR’s security and safeguarding manager runs projects to support vulnerable passengers.

Network Rail, British Transport Police and Samaritans have jointly run a campaign called ‘Small Talk Saves Lives’, which they reckon to have saved more than 2,000 lives.

The railway industry also works with the Samaritans on its annual ‘Brew Monday’ at the start of each year, when railway staff and volunteers hand out teabags and encourage people to have conversations in order to boost their mental health and tackle ‘the blues’.

People can contact the Samaritans at any time by phone on 116 123 or through the organisation’s website.

“We’re incredibly grateful to West Midlands Railway for its continued support of Samaritans and for helping us to share the message that Samaritans is here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on Samaritans Awareness Day. We answer a call for help every 10 seconds so if you’re in crisis, remember there is support out there. Samaritans is here to listen, day or night, because listening can save lives.”

Megan Winnington, regional development lead at Samaritans