Recorded assaults against public on Britain’s mainline railway rise 36%

Recorded assaults against passengers and other members of the public on Great Britain’s mainline railway rose by 36% to 13,464 in the year to March 2026, according to figures published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on 24 September. [1]

The increase applies to reports involving the public, not railway workers. Separately, ORR recorded 11,289 assaults against mainline staff, covering physical assaults, verbal abuse and threats. The RMT union, citing the regulator’s statistics, said the workforce total had risen by 12%. [1] [6]

On London Underground, recorded assaults against passengers and other members of the public increased by 20% to 5,534. ORR also recorded 3,525 assaults against Underground staff, though the supplied figures do not establish the annual change in that total. [1]

What the figures cover

The statistics are not simply a count of physical attacks or injuries: ORR’s definition of assault and abuse includes verbal abuse and threats. There is also a difference between the categories: workforce assault data include sexual assaults, while figures for passengers and other members of the public exclude them. British Transport Police supplies the public-assault statistics. [2]

The figures do not establish how much of the increase reflects changes in offending, reporting or recording. A Scottish Police Authority report published in July recorded British Transport Police’s view that increased reporting had contributed to rising staff-assault records. It did not quantify that contribution or explain the national 36% increase involving the public. [10]

Calls for stronger protection

Responding to the release, RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey called for more public-transport staff, an end to lone working and stronger legal protections for workers. He also urged operators to bring outsourced security and enforcement staff in-house. These were the union’s proposed responses, rather than measures whose effects were established by the statistics. [6]

In June, the Rail Delivery Group announced plans to roll out Railway Behaviour Notices during the summer. The notices withdraw repeat offenders’ permission to enter specified stations for six to twelve months, with exemptions for essential travel such as medical appointments or education. [9]