| Reported assaults on Britain's rail services rise by more than a third Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:39, 24th September 2026 |     |
Some sombre reading here for members of the Coffee Shop forum and our guests.
From the BBC:
Reported assaults on Britain's rail services rise by more than a third
Reports of violent incidents and harassment on rail services "rose substantially" last year, figures from the rail regulator show.
Reported assaults, including physical and verbal, were up 36% in the year to March 2026 compared with the previous year, according to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
In total 13,464 assaults against passengers and members of the public were recorded on Britain's mainline railway, the highest number recorded since the series began in 2004.
The ORR said the figures were "concerning" and that it was working with the industry to address the problem.
According to the figures, harassment increased by 52% compared with the previous year and common assaults rose by 30%. The increase comes against a backdrop of five years of rising reports of incidents and industry campaigns to raise awareness.
Assaults on the mainline railway are recorded according to their type. As a result each incident can lead to reports in more than one category, for example if someone is harassed and then physically assaulted.
There were also 11,289 reported assaults against members of the workforce on the mainline railway, up 12% compared with the previous year. Of those 2,487 were physical assaults, while more than half (6,390 incidents) involved verbal abuse. The rest were threats.
"We're working with industry and our trade union colleagues to address work-related violence and harassment," said Richard Hines, the ORR's chief inspector of railways. "This includes understanding where the risks are, putting effective controls in place, encouraging staff to report incidents and providing appropriate support afterwards," he said.
The statistics include mainline rail services in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland. The data release also covers the London Underground, trams, metros and other light rail services.
On the London Underground, recorded assaults increased 20% to 5,534 in the latest year, but reported workforce assaults fell 3% to 3,525.
Transport for London does not record multiple aspects of each incident. Instead it records the most severe aspect reported.
A spokesperson responding on behalf of Network Rail and the train companies said all operators were working to reduce risk and prevent harm by sharing information, improving reporting processes and deploying body-worn cameras.
"Keeping passengers and colleagues safe is at the heart of everything we do," the spokesperson said. "Violence, abuse and intimidation directed at passengers or staff are completely unacceptable. The rail industry works closely with British Transport Police to investigate incidents, support victims and bring offenders to justice."
The passenger body, Transport Focus, said the ORR's figures supported research it conducted which found personal security was "one of the highest priorities" for passengers. However, only 3% of passengers it surveyed said they were dissatisfied with personal safety at the station.
Transport Focus acknowledged that some of the increase might reflect better reporting. Nevertheless, every incident represented someone negatively affected, it said, adding it would like to see "a much more strategic approach" to tackling the issue.
The RMT union, representing rail industry workers, said the figures corresponded with the union's own figures indicating two-thirds of its members had experienced violence at work.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey called for an increase in staffing on public transport, including an end to lone working, to combat the problem. "We also clearly need stronger legal protections for public transport workers against assaults at work," he said.
He said cuts to British Transport Police funding had been "disastrous" and called for outsourced security and enforcement staff to be brought in-house "as a matter of urgency".
Other notable figures from the statistical release include that 11 members of the public died at mainline level crossings in the latest year, six more than the previous year. Eight were pedestrians and the others were road vehicle users.
Reports of violent incidents and harassment on rail services "rose substantially" last year, figures from the rail regulator show.
Reported assaults, including physical and verbal, were up 36% in the year to March 2026 compared with the previous year, according to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
In total 13,464 assaults against passengers and members of the public were recorded on Britain's mainline railway, the highest number recorded since the series began in 2004.
The ORR said the figures were "concerning" and that it was working with the industry to address the problem.
According to the figures, harassment increased by 52% compared with the previous year and common assaults rose by 30%. The increase comes against a backdrop of five years of rising reports of incidents and industry campaigns to raise awareness.
Assaults on the mainline railway are recorded according to their type. As a result each incident can lead to reports in more than one category, for example if someone is harassed and then physically assaulted.
There were also 11,289 reported assaults against members of the workforce on the mainline railway, up 12% compared with the previous year. Of those 2,487 were physical assaults, while more than half (6,390 incidents) involved verbal abuse. The rest were threats.
"We're working with industry and our trade union colleagues to address work-related violence and harassment," said Richard Hines, the ORR's chief inspector of railways. "This includes understanding where the risks are, putting effective controls in place, encouraging staff to report incidents and providing appropriate support afterwards," he said.
The statistics include mainline rail services in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland. The data release also covers the London Underground, trams, metros and other light rail services.
On the London Underground, recorded assaults increased 20% to 5,534 in the latest year, but reported workforce assaults fell 3% to 3,525.
Transport for London does not record multiple aspects of each incident. Instead it records the most severe aspect reported.
A spokesperson responding on behalf of Network Rail and the train companies said all operators were working to reduce risk and prevent harm by sharing information, improving reporting processes and deploying body-worn cameras.
"Keeping passengers and colleagues safe is at the heart of everything we do," the spokesperson said. "Violence, abuse and intimidation directed at passengers or staff are completely unacceptable. The rail industry works closely with British Transport Police to investigate incidents, support victims and bring offenders to justice."
The passenger body, Transport Focus, said the ORR's figures supported research it conducted which found personal security was "one of the highest priorities" for passengers. However, only 3% of passengers it surveyed said they were dissatisfied with personal safety at the station.
Transport Focus acknowledged that some of the increase might reflect better reporting. Nevertheless, every incident represented someone negatively affected, it said, adding it would like to see "a much more strategic approach" to tackling the issue.
The RMT union, representing rail industry workers, said the figures corresponded with the union's own figures indicating two-thirds of its members had experienced violence at work.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey called for an increase in staffing on public transport, including an end to lone working, to combat the problem. "We also clearly need stronger legal protections for public transport workers against assaults at work," he said.
He said cuts to British Transport Police funding had been "disastrous" and called for outsourced security and enforcement staff to be brought in-house "as a matter of urgency".
Other notable figures from the statistical release include that 11 members of the public died at mainline level crossings in the latest year, six more than the previous year. Eight were pedestrians and the others were road vehicle users.
My highlighting. Chris from Nailsea.
| Re: Reported assaults on Britain's rail services rise by more than a third Posted by Witham Bobby at 11:44, 25th September 2026 | |
Simply shocking
You have to wonder why the more "anti violence" measures and response policing we have, the worse the situation becomes. Some people's willingness to be violent in an an attempt to get their way is simply startling.
I say this as someone who's business property recently has been raided by a gang armed with baseball bats and crowbars. Considerable damage and inconvenience, but, thank God, no one hurt. 2nd break in in 2 years. I can't help but think a more robust approach from Staffordshire Constabulary (who have almost pulled-out of Tamworth, where my business is situated) and the legal system might just provide a bit more of a deterrent. At present, despite all the fine words about clamping down blah blah, the opposite seems to happen. The chances of anyone being apprehended and comprehensively punished for any "low level" crime are very, very small
| Re: Reported assaults on Britain's rail services rise by more than a third Posted by TaplowGreen at 15:46, 25th September 2026 | |
Simply shocking
You have to wonder why the more "anti violence" measures and response policing we have, the worse the situation becomes. Some people's willingness to be violent in an an attempt to get their way is simply startling.
I say this as someone who's business property recently has been raided by a gang armed with baseball bats and crowbars. Considerable damage and inconvenience, but, thank God, no one hurt. 2nd break in in 2 years. I can't help but think a more robust approach from Staffordshire Constabulary (who have almost pulled-out of Tamworth, where my business is situated) and the legal system might just provide a bit more of a deterrent. At present, despite all the fine words about clamping down blah blah, the opposite seems to happen. The chances of anyone being apprehended and comprehensively punished for any "low level" crime are very, very small
You have to wonder why the more "anti violence" measures and response policing we have, the worse the situation becomes. Some people's willingness to be violent in an an attempt to get their way is simply startling.
I say this as someone who's business property recently has been raided by a gang armed with baseball bats and crowbars. Considerable damage and inconvenience, but, thank God, no one hurt. 2nd break in in 2 years. I can't help but think a more robust approach from Staffordshire Constabulary (who have almost pulled-out of Tamworth, where my business is situated) and the legal system might just provide a bit more of a deterrent. At present, despite all the fine words about clamping down blah blah, the opposite seems to happen. The chances of anyone being apprehended and comprehensively punished for any "low level" crime are very, very small
Absolutely. I have a lot of friends who are recently retired/still serving in the Police, and they find it endlessly frustrating in terms of the way their priorities have been changed - one common theme is that changing the name from the "Police Force" to the "Police service" had an enormous cultural impact beyond semantics, and by no means all positive.
For example the weekly pro Palestinian hate marches in London would have been policed far more assertively in the past, but now hands are thrown up in horror at the thought of causing offence to particular groups. The clip of a Police officer glugging coffee whilst patronisingly explaining to a Jewish woman that a swastika flag should be taken "in context" lives long in the memory.
I struggle to remember shoplifting being a virtual free for all either in the past with few or no consequences for the perpetrators.
(I'd better leave it at that before I get accused of being "far right")
| Re: Reported assaults on Britain's rail services rise by more than a third Posted by Mark A at 17:40, 25th September 2026 | |
That's not far right though: when people quote 'Weekly pro-Palestinian hate marches in London' it's more a repetition of various tropes, boosted in this age of generational trauma.
Mark
| Re: Reported assaults on Britain's rail services rise by more than a third Posted by Marlburian at 17:47, 25th September 2026 | |
Absolutely. I have a lot of friends who are recently retired/still serving in the Police, and they find it endlessly frustrating in terms of the way their priorities have been changed - one common theme is that changing the name from the "Police Force" to the "Police service" had an enormous cultural impact beyond semantics, and by no means all positive.
By a very minor coincidence, last night I was watching the 2001 episode of "The Bill" police drama featuring the retirement party of "old-school" Sergeant Cryer; he makes a moving speech about the change from "Police Force" to "Police Service" - a pointed dig at "new school" Superintendent Tom Chandler. Frustratingly the episode is missing from the Internet Archive but can be viewed here on u.co.uk One has to register.
(I'm working my way through all 2,300 episodes, and the above is number 1,593. By 2001 it had started to get silly, with various combinations of relationships between the police and a high death rate among them. It does have the merit of many scenes being filmed in and close to Docklands as it was re-developed from docks to yuppiedom.)
| Re: Reported assaults on Britain's rail services rise by more than a third Posted by TaplowGreen at 18:02, 25th September 2026 | |
Absolutely. I have a lot of friends who are recently retired/still serving in the Police, and they find it endlessly frustrating in terms of the way their priorities have been changed - one common theme is that changing the name from the "Police Force" to the "Police service" had an enormous cultural impact beyond semantics, and by no means all positive.
By a very minor coincidence, last night I was watching the 2001 episode of "The Bill" police drama featuring the retirement party of "old-school" Sergeant Cryer; he makes a moving speech about the change from "Police Force" to "Police Service - a pointed dig at "new school" Superintendent Tom Chandler. Frustratingly the episode is missing from the Internet Archive but can be viewed here on u.co.uk One has to register.
(I'm working my way through all 2,300 episodes, and the above is number 1,593. By 2001 it had started to get silly, with various combinations of relationships between the police and a high death rate among them. It does have the merit of many scenes being filmed in and close to Docklands as it was re-developed from docks to yuppiedom.)
I used to drink in the Cross Keys in Hammersmith where several of the cast members were regulars. It was more notable though for the quality of its Fullers "Chiswick" ale, never an easy one to find but well worth seeking out!
