West Midlands Railway scheme removes gay man in response to anti-trans views

A gay man has been removed from West Midlands Railway’s ‘Adopt a Station’ scheme after he criticised their Pride train and expressed anti-trans views on social media. The train company’s Adopt a Station scheme, which encourages community groups and individuals to volunteer at their local train stations, made the decision to remove Matthew Toomer as his views did not align with their culture of inclusion.

WMR Pride Train

Toomer uses X (formerly Twitter) to express his views that include criticising among many topics; LGBTQ+ activists whom he claims should “Know when to quit”, brands that are engaged in “eco-woke”, and supposed “virtue signalling” from fire services sponsoring Exeter Pride. His account also displays anti-immigration and anti-trans rhetoric.

In 2024, when West Midlands Railway launched their Pride train, wrapped in a Pride progress flag motif and named ‘Hurst Street’ after the city’s Gay Village, Toomer was quick to criticise it asking: “Presumably the train will be returned to his natural state once the event is over?”

Later, Toomer added: “Trains are for getting people from A to B, not pushing political agendas. Public transport should be neutral and those who believe this should not be sacrificed upon the altar of virtue signalling.”

Following Toomer’s comments, he was summoned to a meeting where he was told his views “do not align with [WMR’s] values and mission”.

A WMR spokesman said: “Our company has a proud culture of inclusion and allyship. “

We believe the views Mr Toomer has expressed on social media on a range of subjects are at odds with these values and could be harmful or offensive to our colleagues, customers or other volunteers.

“We have therefore asked that Mr Toomer no longer volunteers on behalf of West Midlands Railway.”