Violent incidents and harassment on British rail services reach record highs
New data from the Office of Rail and Road reveals a 36% increase in assaults against passengers and a 12% rise in attacks on rail staff.
Quick Look
- Reported assaults on Britain's mainline railway rose by 36% to 13,464 in the year to March 2026, the highest level since 2004.
- Harassment increased by 52%, while attacks on rail staff rose by 12%, prompting the ORR to call the trend concerning.
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Why It Matters
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the regulator responsible for monitoring safety and performance on Britain's railways. The reported figures exclude data from Northern Ireland.
There has been an increase in reports of violent incidents and harassment on rail services across Britain, new figures show.
Reported assaults, including physical and verbal, "rose substantially" in the year to March 2026 compared to the previous year, according to the regulator responsible, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
In total 13,464 assaults against passengers and members of the public were recorded on the mainline railway, up 36% and the highest number recorded since the series began in 2004. The figures do not reflect incidents in Northern Ireland.
The ORR said the rise was "concerning" and that it was working with the industry to address the problem.
According to the figures, harassment increased by 52% on 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.
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.
Open Questions
- What specific industry measures will be implemented to reduce violence?
- Are there specific rail lines or regions seeing higher concentrations of incidents?
