The number of reported assaults on Great Britain’s railways has risen by a fifth to a record high of almost ۲۵,۰۰۰ incidents in a year.
Unions said the “horrendous” figures showed the need for more staff and policing, as the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) revealed a sharp increase in assaults on the travelling public and on railway staff last year.
There were ۱۳,۴۶۴ reported assaults against passengers and members of the public on the mainline railway in ۲۰۲۵-۲۶, up ۳۶% on the previous year and the highest number recorded by the ORR since it started tracking the figures in ۲۰۰۴.
Assaults on rail staff were up ۱۲% in a year to ۱۱,۲۸۹ reported incidents, mainly verbal abuse but including nearly ۲,۵۰۰ physical assaults – an average of about seven every day.
The assaults on members of the public included startling rises in cases of harassment, up ۵۲% year on year, and common assault, up by ۳۰%.
The figures partly reflect increased reporting and zero-tolerance campaigns on public transport, but also underline concerns flagged by unions about the threats to frontline workers as well as passengers, and the availability of transport police.
The RMT general secretary, Eddie Dempsey, said the numbers were horrendous but chimed with the union’s own surveys showing two-thirds of its members had experienced some form of violence at work in the past year.
He said: “We are calling for a significant increase in staffing across public transport, including an end to lone working. We also clearly need stronger legal protections for public transport workers against assaults at work.
“British Transport Police funding cuts have also been disastrous which has undermined a proper policing presence on all public transport.”
The TSSA union’s general secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, said: “These new figures are shocking but not surprising because we have been warning for many months that violence on the railways is spiralling out of control.”
The government said it was increasing police funding and taking the issue “extremely seriously”.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The rise in assaults on the railway is deeply concerning and completely unacceptable. No passenger or rail worker should face violence, threats or abuse, and we encourage anyone affected to report incidents to the police.
“The government and rail industry are taking this extremely seriously, with a £۶۳m increase in British Transport Police funding by ۲۰۲۸-۲۹, which will see over ۲۰۰ additional officers recruited.”
New measures called railway behaviour notices were introduced in June ۲۰۲۶, strengthening the railway’s ability to exclude repeat offenders from stations.
BTP said they had been encouraging greater reporting of all types of assault by staff and passengers, including record use of the ۶۱۰۱۶ discreet text-to-report number, which partly explained the growing numbers.
Nonetheless, the BTP assistant chief constable said: “These figures are a stark reminder of the violence and abuse rail workers face simply for doing their jobs. We will never tolerate violence or abuse directed at passengers or staff on the railway, and anyone committing these crimes can expect a robust response from us.
“We remain committed to driving down these offences and ensuring the network is safe for everyone.”
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The chief inspector of railways, the ORR’s Richard Hines, said the increase in reported assaults was concerning, adding: “No one on the railway should be subjected to violence, threats or abuse.”
He said the ORR had set out guidance for employers on the risks, effective controls and encouraging staff to report incidents.
A spokesperson for Network Rail and train operators 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.”
They said the numbers also reflected greater intelligence sharing, improved reporting processes, and more CCTV and body-worn cameras for frontline staff.
The ORR report noted that the headline numbers of reported assaults can include multiple counts in a single incident, for example for both harassment and common assault, while workforce assaults are now recorded even if no physical injury occurs. On the London Underground, where there is single counting, the number of assaults on the workforce fell slightly last year.
The chief executive of the Rail Safety and Standards Board, Mark Phillips, said the rail industry was taking action to better protect staff, but the figures “underline the need for a change in public behaviour and greater respect for the people who keep the railway running safely every day”.
Reports in recent years have highlighted that women and girls were at particular risk, while the growing number of assaults year on year since the pandemic has coincided with pressure on British Transport Police numbers.
The abuse and intimidation faced by frontline staff on the railways has also been seen in sectors including retail and in the NHS. The British Retail Consortium warned over “endemic” violence towards shop workers earlier this year, while the number of reports of violence against NHS staff by patients surpassed ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ in ۲۰۲۵.
