The number of reported passenger assaults on the UK rail network has significantly increased, more than tripling over the last decade, according to official statistics. The Office of Rail and Road’s annual report indicates that between April 2024 and March 2025, there were 10,231 reported assaults, reflecting a 7% increase from the previous year. In contrast, a decade ago, there were 3,211 reported incidents, encompassing harassment and common assaults.
This rise in reported assaults has coincided with the British Transport Police’s initiative to promote the reporting of various concerns on the rail network. The “See It. Say It. Sorted.” campaign, launched in 2016 and relaunched in 2022, encourages the public to report any unusual behavior to railway staff or police. Additionally, the ‘Speak Up, Interrupt’ campaign was introduced in 2022 to motivate witnesses of inappropriate sexual behavior to report or intervene when safe to do so.
Within the mainline rail network, harassment and common assault accounted for more than three-quarters of all reported assaults, both categories showing an upward trend. This pattern was also evident on the London Underground, where assaults reached their highest levels since data collection began in 2004, totaling over 4,600 incidents. Here, harassment and common assaults represented more than 80% of reported cases.
During the same financial year, passengers made 1.7 billion journeys on the mainline railway. The report noted that 14 members of the public died on the mainline network and the London Underground, excluding suicides and trespass-related incidents. Additionally, there were two fatalities among rail workers, one related to an assault. The number of suicides across the network also reached a peak, with 368 reported instances resulting in 293 fatalities.
The report indicated an increase in injuries among both the public and workers, nearing pre-pandemic levels with a total of 11,472 injuries reported. However, almost 80% of these injuries were categorized as non-severe. The Office of Rail and Road segments its data into mainline rail, non-mainline services, and the London Underground.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7n2zjg82do?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss