Rail workers have been subject to more than 4,000 assaults in the past year, according to a Freedom of Information request by BBC South East.
The staff said they had been punched, spat on, and attacked. Southeastern was the operator with the most reports of violence, recording 438 incidents in 2023.
The FOI showed that the number of assaults recorded by police in 2023 was almost 10% higher than pre-pandemic in 2019, despite an 11% reduction in passenger numbers.
One rail enforcement officer told the BBC that abuse towards staff had ramped up, saying that “when we’re checking tickets, some people just think we’re here for a laugh”.
Penalty fares for not having a ticket have gone up from £20 to £100, which some REOs believe is a factor in the increase in aggression. Body-worn cameras are now used by around 900 Southeastern staff.
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The operator is also launching an app where staff can report incidents of violence and aggression. The British Transport Police said it took incidents “extremely seriously” and said it offered workshops to encourage staff to report any abuse.
The news comes after another investigation from the BBC which found that 541 cases of abuse towards highway workers were recorded by National Highways between 2020 and 2023.
Road workers reported a range of incidents, from being threatened with knives and machetes, to someone pulling out a gun.
Motorists have thrown traffic cones at staff, shouted racial abuse, and one even threatened to use an electric hand saw if he was not allowed through a closed road.
In response, a number of companies who employ road workers have launched a taskforce called Stamp It Out, aimed at identifying risks to workers and making it easier to report abuse.
Kevin Robinson, chief executive of Safer Highways said the taskforce showed “our combined commitment to eradicating road worker abuse on both the local and strategic networks”.
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