Toilet charges at two of London’s busiest stations have been scrapped after passengers paid out thousands to spend a penny.
The 50p fee to use the toilet facilities at Victoria station and Charing Cross has been temporarily suspended, Network Rail said.
It is understood the halting of the charge is a goodwill gesture to passengers who have endured travel delays and cancellations over the last few months.
Commuters face further disruption next week when members of the drivers’ union Aslef will stage three days of strikes that will halt all Southern rail services.
Figures released by Network Rail in 2015 showed visitors had spent £12.8m at its stations’ toilets over the past three years. The company made a profit of around £2.5m in 2014, more than £600,000 of that from London Victoria.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “Toilet charges in a small number of stations have been suspended. There are currently no plans to remove charges at other stations.
“We do not profit from these charges. The small charge we make for using the toilets helps to maintain them and prevents misuse such as vandalism and other antisocial behaviour. Any money raised from the charges is reinvested into the railway and passenger facilities at our stations.”
A spokesperson for Network Rail south-east route, which manages London Victoria, London Bridge, Charing Cross and Cannon Street, said: [We have] stopped charging passengers to use the toilets at Victoria and Charing Cross. This brings those stations into line with London Bridge, which has not charged since the new concourse opened, and Cannon Street, which has not charged for some years.
“It will take us some time to assess the impact of that policy with regard to cleaning and security, and the costs involved in keeping standards as high as our expectations. However, we recognise that good customer service starts from the minute people walk into our buildings and we want them to feel welcome.”