Passengers using our rail network quite rightly expect to feel safe when they are waiting and may be rightly concerned about the level of crime in stations around the district which the Telegraph & Argus reveals today.

And it is reassuring to know that more late- night police patrols will be put in place to help improve security at the stations.

What the figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show is that some of our stations are very safe indeed, with no crime at all at Ben Rhydding and three offences at Burley-in-Wharfedale and four at Baildon.

But that is in sharp contrast to Shipley, Keighley, and Bradford’s two city stations, which have more than 200 crimes between them.

While statistically, the chances of being a victim of crime may appear low on the back of these figures, that is of small comfort if you are one of the unlucky ones. And a small number of these crimes have been very serious, with potentially dangerous and even lethal consequences.

As stations can sometimes be dark and unfriendly places, especially late at night, anything that can be done to make passengers feel safer must be welcomed. So moves to up patrols and increased use of CCTV are to be applauded, and everything possible must be done to make our stations as light and open as possible.

In terms of staffing, resource issues have obviously affected the number of staff at the stations at any time, particularly out of normal hours, but it is worth making the point that if stations are manned late at night, then staff should make themselves as visible as possible. And passengers themselves should remain vigilant at all times in public places like stations, but particularly late at night.

Most importantly though, rail chiefs need to do all they can to ensure these stations are as free from crime as possible and passengers feel safe.