Reported assaults on Great Britain’s railways have reached a record high, with almost 25,000 incidents recorded in a single year. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) revealed a sharp increase in assaults against both the travelling public and railway staff.
In 2025-26, there were 13,464 reported assaults against passengers and members of the public on the mainline railway, marking a 36% increase from the previous year. This is the highest figure recorded by the ORR since it began tracking these statistics in 2004.
Assaults on rail staff also rose by 12% in a year, totalling 11,289 reported incidents. While these were mainly verbal abuse, nearly 2,500 were physical assaults, averaging about seven per day. The ORR noted that the increase in reported assaults is concerning, with its chief inspector of railways, Richard Hines, stating that "No one on the railway should be subjected to violence, threats or abuse."
Unions have attributed the figures to a need for more staff and policing. The RMT general secretary, Eddie Dempsey, called for a significant increase in staffing across public transport and stronger legal protections for workers. He also highlighted the impact of British Transport Police funding cuts.
A spokesperson for Network Rail and train operators stated that violence, abuse, and intimidation are "completely unacceptable." They added that the numbers also reflect greater intelligence sharing, improved reporting processes, and more CCTV and body-worn cameras for frontline staff. The ORR report indicated that headline numbers can include multiple counts in a single incident, and workforce assaults are now recorded even without physical injury.