61016 – Who Runs It, What It Costs & Is It Safe?

Short code: 61016
Type: Text short code
Operated by: British Transport Police
Cost: Charged by your network
Category: Reporting scams and getting help
Verified: 13 August 2026

What 61016 is for

61016 lets you contact BTP discreetly about non-emergency incidents anywhere on Britain's railways, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Contact handlers monitor messages around the clock and can send officers to meet you at a station or at your next stop.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 999 instead.

What it costs

Charged by your network. National Rail warns that mobile providers may charge for texting 61016, and that it may not work if you have blocked premium-rate numbers or are out of credit.

Text 61016 — how it works

Text 61016 with as much detail as you can: the time, which train or station you are at, and what is happening.
You can also send it from the National Rail app: choose Report an Incident (Text 61016) and it fills the message in for you.
For an emergency, always call 999.

Is 61016 safe, and is it spoofed?

A short code cannot be spoofed in the way an ordinary phone number can, because you are the one starting the conversation. The risk runs the other way: fraudsters send texts that claim to be from a service like this one and ask you to reply or tap a link.

If a text or call is trying to rush you, threaten you, or get a password, one-time code or payment out of you, it is a scam whatever number it shows. Read our guide to the UK number ranges scammers use and how to spot a smishing text, and forward anything suspicious free to 7726.

Where this came from

We do not guess short codes. Every entry in this directory was checked against the organisation that runs the code, or against gov.uk or the regulator:

National Rail – Text 61016

Checked against this source on 13 August 2026. Short codes and their charges do change — if the operator’s page now says something different, believe the operator.

Checking an ordinary number instead

Short codes are not in Ofcom’s numbering data — only full UK numbers are. If it is a normal 01, 02, 03, 07, 08 or 09 number you want to identify, put it into the phone number checker and you will get its type, its area and the provider Ofcom allocated the range to.

Other UK short codes

7726 · Report spam texts and scam calls 60599 · Report a suspicious HMRC text message 85258 · Shout – free 24/7 mental health text support 159 · Stop Scams UK – the safe route back to your bank 999 · Emergency services (and emergencySMS by text)101 · Police non-emergency

All verified UK short codes › · UK area codes › · UK network operators ›

61016 — frequently asked questions

Is 61016 free?

Charged by your network. National Rail warns that mobile providers may charge for texting 61016, and that it may not work if you have blocked premium-rate numbers or are out of credit.

Who runs 61016?

British Transport Police. 61016 is the British Transport Police text line for reporting crime or anything that feels wrong on a train or at a station - the 'See it. Say it. Sorted.' number. We verified this against the operator's own published information on 13 August 2026; the sources are linked on this page.

Is 61016 a scam number?

No. A short code cannot be spoofed in the way an ordinary phone number can, because you are the one starting the conversation. The risk runs the other way: fraudsters send texts that claim to be from a service like this one and ask you to reply or tap a link.

I got a text from a short code I do not recognise – what should I do?

Do not tap any link in it and do not reply unless you are certain who the sender is. If it is marketing from a company you know, replying STOP to the short code shown in the message opts you out free. If it is unsolicited, forward it to 7726 free of charge and delete it - replying to an unknown sender only confirms your number is live.

61016 — British Transport Police non-emergency reporting