Train content takes off on TikTok

Train content has seen a huge increase on TikTok in the last three months. Posts tagged with #UKTrains have increased by 247% over recent months. The trend has even led to train staff moonlighting as content creators.

Shamal Cain, who goes by the handle Tube Bellingham, is a Transport for London employee who shares advice for commuters across the capital. He said many commuters were not fully aware of the TfL journey planner or how to avoid penalty fares from not tapping in and out. After noticing the gap, he thought: “Why don’t I just record giving information on what I do?”

He said: “A majority of people commute through TfL. I think because a lot of people are doing that on a daily basis, they’re very engaged with information.” When Cain joined TikTok, direct messages came in fast, with followers asking him about alternative routes when services were down or for advice on getting a job with TfL.

The popularity of train content has also risen thanks to enthusiast rail influencers such as Nathan Pinnock-James, who makes educational transport videos. “Since I started posting on TikTok, there’s been a lot of people that have the context of what a train is, how to use a train, but may not have noticed certain aspects of it,” said Pinnock-James, AKA Network Nathan. “They’re like: ‘Oh, wow! That’s quite shocking!’” He said obscure hobbies thrived on the app. “TikTok has really opened the door to really niche, specific topics coming on to your ‘for you’ page. It’s allowed people to find things that they didn’t know were interesting to them.”

The 24-year-old said he found an audience online by creating videos about the best trainspotting locations, station openings, and explainers on how the shape of train wheels make DLR carriages wobble. Yazmin How, the head of emerging communities at TikTok UK, said: “It’s inspiring to see such a wide variety of creators, whether it’s professional train drivers, tube historians, young enthusiasts or comedy creators, using short-form video to make transport content entertaining and accessible to everyone.”