In order to better protect local transport staff from attacks, Deutsche Bahn will offer employees the option to wear body cameras in the future. The small cameras had proven themselves in a test phase.
Deutsche Bahn will in future offer train attendants on regional trains nationwide the ability to wear body cameras. “The offer is valid immediately. The body cameras can be worn if desired. Colleagues can now register for them,” the railway said.
The body-worn cameras are intended to help better protect rail staff from attacks by passengers. Test phases showed that the devices had a de-escalating effect, 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.
More attacks in Regional transport
The offer initially only applies to the approximately 5,000 customer advisors in Deutsche Bahn’s local transport. “Our employees are the backbone of rail traffic. This makes it all the more important for us to better protect them from attacks,” said Palla.
In 2023, 1,328 DB employees were attacked in local transport. The railway reported a sharp increase in attacks on employees in 2022, which was attributed, among other things, to the enforcement of the mask requirement on trains during the corona pandemic. Recently, the number of passengers on local transport has increased noticeably due to the introduction of the Deutschlandticket.