Ealing Broadway station to trial 'calm space' for passengers to pause and reset during their journeys

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 11:29 EDT, 6 September 2026 | Updated: 11:37 EDT, 6 September 2026 Transport for London is introducing pods across the capital designed to provide neurodivergent passengers with a peaceful place to sit.One of the new 'calm space' pods has already been spotted at Ealing Broadway Tube station in west London, while another is set to land at the Transport Museum in Covent Garden in the coming weeks.The structures are thin huts featuring TfL branding on the outside and a seat on the inside, along with what appears to be a mock-up of a woodland scene daubed onto one of the inner walls. At Ealing Broadway, the pod sits just beyond the barriers and is designed to 'support customers who may find travelling overwhelming and need a quiet space to pause, regulate and recover before continuing their journey'.The space is soundproofed, boasts a 'calming colour palette' and is large enough to fit buggies, assistance animals and mobility aids, according to TfL.It will remain in place until October 2 as part of a trial in partnership with charities NOOK and Autistica asking customers for their feedback.The Transport Museum 'calm space' will be in operation over an eight-week period in Autumn.The pods are part of Sadiq Khan's Equity in Motion plan established in 2024 in a bid 'to make London transport fairer, more accessible and more inclusive'. Transport for London has introduced a 'calm space' pod at Ealing Broadway Tube station, pictured, designed to provide neurodivergent passengers with a peaceful place to sit The structures are thin huts featuring TfL branding on the outside and a seat on the inside, along with what appears to be a mock-up of a woodland scene daubed onto the inner wallDr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, said the structures will offer 'visitors somewhere to pause and reset so they can travel with confidence and independence'.Founder of NOOK, David O'Coimin, said: 'We hope this trial demonstrates what's possible when inclusive design, lived experience and innovation come together - making calm, accessible spaces a normal part of public life.'Dr Amanda Roestorf, Director of Research at Autistica, said: 'For many neurodivergent Londoners, a calm space can be the difference between avoiding the Underground and travelling with confidence.'The organisation's new drive to boost accessibility on the capital's public transport network will also involve adding new toilets in locations including Morden, Colindale, Northolt and Amersham Underground stations, as well as Seven Sisters and White Hart Lane London Overground stations.Lord Khan was earlier this year rocked by damning crime statistics which revealed that offences on London's public transport network have risen by almost 50 per cent since the pandemic. The London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee published a new report that suggests people are increasingly anxious about using buses, Tubes and trains to get across the capital for fear of falling victim to crime.Around 48,000 crimes were reported across TfL services in 2025 - up 46 per cent against a pre-pandemic average of 16,544. A Transport Museum 'calm space' will also be in operation over an eight-week period in Autumn (Stock Photo)The figure was released as part of a new report examining the capital's approach to tackling spiralling rates of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and hate crime across the transport network, which the committee found 'unacceptable'.Its findings are calamitous for London's transport and policing bodies and for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan: the committee's chair, Marina Ahmad, said that while she expected 'to find a problem, what we found was a crisis'.Seven in 10 Londoners are choosing not to travel, or not to travel at certain times of the day, 'because they were worried about their personal security', Tricia Hayes of London TravelWatch told the committee.This may go some way to explaining why, as official TfL statistics suggest, passenger journeys fell by 2.4 per cent in the second half of 2025.