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, as perthe 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 statedthe 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 as pertheir 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 announcedassaults 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,” statedRichard 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 announcedworkforce 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 statedall 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, statedthe 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 statedthey 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, statedthe 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 statedcuts 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.