Status: 03/04/2023 1:19 p.m
Violence against Deutsche Bahn train staff has been increasing for years – and this will also be the case in 2022. The group is now using bodycams to better protect its employees. In addition, thousands of cameras are to be installed at train stations.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) is increasingly relying on technical solutions to better protect its train crew. The company wants to equip its customer advisors on the railways with body cameras. A test operation with cameras on the body has been running in the Black Forest Railway since February, which is to be extended to other regions, the group said.
Initial investigations into this operation showed “that both the train staff and passengers feel safer with it,” said the head of DB Group security, Hans-Hilmar Rischke.
11,000 cameras at train stations by 2024
In addition, further protective measures are planned, as well as training courses for railway employees who come into contact with customers, the company said. Video surveillance at train stations is to be expanded.
The DB currently operates around 9,000 video cameras at train stations, and by 2024 there should be 11,000. Almost 50,000 cameras are already installed in the interiors of almost three quarters of all local and suburban trains. According to Deutsche Bahn, it has so far spent more than 180 million euros a year on the safety of travelers and employees.
3138 attacks in 2022
According to Deutsche Bahn, attacks on employees increased significantly in the past year. The company reported 3,138 cases. This was an increase of over 21 percent compared to 2021. At that time, however, significantly fewer people used the trains due to the corona pandemic.
Around 30 percent of all cases can be attributed to the enforcement of the mask requirement. This was lifted nationwide in February. Another seven percent of the incidents in 2022 were related to the 9-euro ticket, which had led to very full trains in the summer.
Serious bodily harm as an exception
After most of the official corona protection measures were abolished in 2022, the number of travelers increased significantly over the course of the year. According to DB information, they have been back to the pre-corona level since the summer, and in some cases they were significantly higher. The “massive rescheduling of events” and the revival of football travel have contributed to the increase in attacks.
According to the information, half of the attacks affected train personnel in regional transport. A good third was accounted for by DB security forces. But professional groups such as bus drivers, cleaning or service staff at the train station were also victims of attacks. Serious bodily harm, at six percent of all assaults, was “the exception”.
EVG wants federal police officers on long-distance trains
At the end of January, the railway and transport union (EVG) complained about increased attacks on Deutsche Bahn employees in 2022. EVG boss Martin Burkert hoped at the time that the violence could decrease since the mask requirement had been eliminated.
He insisted on allowing federal police officers to ride on long-distance trains. In local transport, regular rides by DB Sicherheit are also necessary.