Lots of attacks
Body cameras are intended to prevent violence against railway employees in the future
More than a thousand railway employees were attacked on local transport last year
© Patrick Pleul / DPA
Since the Corona pandemic, Deutsche Bahn staff have increasingly suffered from violent attacks. The group now wants to take action against this with an initial measure in regional transport.
Test phases showed that the devices had a “very de-escalating” effect and protected “against physical attacks,” explained Evelyn Palla, Regional Transport Director at Deutsche Bahn. Employees who wore a body camera during the pilot projects have not experienced any physical assault since then. “Bild” had previously reported.
More attacks on railway staff since the corona pandemic
The railway reported a sharp increase in attacks on employees in 2022, which was attributed, among other things, to the requirement to wear masks on trains during the corona pandemic. A large proportion of the incidents affected the approximately 5,000 conductors and customer advisors on regional trains. In spring 2023, DB Regio started a pilot project with body cameras for employees.
The offer initially only applies to Deutsche Bahn local transport employees. “Our employees are the backbone of rail traffic. This makes it all the more important for us to protect them even better from attacks,” explained Palla. “Every attack against our employees is one too many.” In 2023, 1,328 DB employees were attacked in local transport.
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Deutsche Bahn’s local transport fleet includes 4,500 regional trains and S-Bahn trains, which offer 22,000 train journeys every day and transport around 4.7 million travelers per day.