A rise in crime on the railways has left passengers facing an “epidemic of violence”, it has been claimed, after transport police bosses admitted a lack of officers was affecting their response to emergency calls.
The latest Home Office figures show the British Transport Police (BTP), which also polices the London Underground, recorded a 5 per cent increase in crime in the year to June 2025 compared to the previous year. It included a 7 per cent uptick in “violence against a person” incidents, and a 6 per cent rise in sexual offences.
The Department for Transport has insisted that the railway network still has a low crime rate, with 26 offences per million passenger journeys, and said that the BTP recently agreed an increased budget that would allow it to employ the highest number of officers since the Second World War.
However, an £8.5m funding shortfall for this financial year has triggered an “establishment reset”, with more than 500 posts set to go by March, and 11 police stations closed, on top of the five that have shut since 2020.
A report submitted to the British Transport Police Authority warned: “Despite best efforts to maintain services, the establishment reset has reduced the visibility of BTP, with police stations having closed with resources redistributed to higher demand posts. We now have fewer frontline officers and staff than last year, and less capacity to investigate crime. Where we have closed stations, we are responding more slowly to emergency calls.”
Several major towns and cities are without BTP stations at rail hubs, including Stoke, Bradford and Middlesbrough, while two cities – Bath and Derby – have police stations but no BTP officer cover. Five London stations – Blackfriars, Charing Cross, Cannon St, Marylebone, and Fenchurch Street – have no permanent BTP presence.
The BTP’s proposed three-year financial plan, published in October, said that due to railway usage increasing, the rate of officers per one million passenger journeys was forecast to fall to its lowest record level this financial year.
Worringly, it also projected that the number of crime incidents would increase by 13 per cent in 2025/26 compared to last year, before further rises in each of the following three years.
The latest Home Office figures showed that the BTP had 2,852 police officers in March last year, down slightly from 2,964 in 2020 – however, under its three-year financial plan, spurred by the increase in funding, it will be boosted by an additional 180 officers, plus 36 officers joining a dedicated team to target violence against women and girls.
But data on offences has continued to cause concern.
The British Transport Police Authority’s annual report this year revealed a 5 per cent increase in offences involving violence and intimidation against women and girls in 2024/25 compared with the previous year.
And separate figures published by the Office for Rail and Road in October showed that assaults on passengers and members of the public on the rail mainline reached a record level in 2024/25, with harassment and common assault making up three-quarters of offences.
In November last year, 11 people required hospital treatment after a mass stabbing on a LNER-operated service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross.
The transport union TSSA’s general secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, told The Independent: “Transport workers and passengers are facing an epidemic of violence, abuse and harassment across the rail network, while our members in the British Transport Police have endured years of deep uncertainty following repeated funding cuts. It is no coincidence that as funding has fallen, crime has risen.
“Despite promises of increased funding over the next three years, the current budget does not go far enough to replace the 500 BTP roles already set to be lost this year, and comes alongside further so-called efficiency savings that risk driving even more cuts.
“Fewer staff means officers are increasingly pulled away from frontline policing to cover roles previously carried out by police staff, reducing visibility, responsiveness and effectiveness across the network. If this trajectory continues, the situation will only deteriorate further.”
The RMT union has threatened to hold a national strike ballot if a “proper funding plan” is not put in place to deter attacks.
General secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “The horrific mass stabbing on board a train diverted to Huntingdon station last year shocked the whole country and underlines why safety and security for rail workers and passengers must be the top priority.
“We need a properly resourced British Transport Police, and a visible presence of officers on stations and trains to reassure passengers and protect staff all year round.”
The report to the British Transport Police Authority in October said that the BTP did not have sufficient resources to respond to every “immediate and priority incident” across its network, with the force relying on other police forces to attend 17 per cent of the incidents in 2024/25.
This week, a BTP spokesperson said: “Our officers and staff work tirelessly every day to keep our railways safe. We will continue to deploy resources to where they are most needed, using intelligence to guide our operations and patrols as we collaborate closely with our partners in the industry to ensure a visible and effective presence.
“The safety of those who use and work on the railways continues to be our top priority, and we remain committed to ensuring the network is a hostile environment for offenders.”
The force said some of the more than 500 posts to be removed this year were already vacant.
Following the LNER service incident, in which train driver Andrew Johnson was credited with helping to stop the attack, transport secretary Heidi Alexander promised a review of rail security.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Passenger safety is our highest priority. The railway has a low crime rate with fewer than 26 crimes for every one million journeys, and the overall rate of crime on our railways decreased last year.
“The British Transport Police has recently been given an increased budget of £482m by 2028/29 (£419m in 2025/26) – a 15 per cent rise, which will see more police officers than at any time since the Second World War.”
