'Deeply alarming' anti-social behaviour incidents on ScotRail reach nearly 9 a day
Scottish Conservatives demand greater action to tackle abuse of passengers and staff
Ministers must “urgently ensure” safety on the Scottish rail network so people are not deterred from travelling by train, the Scottish Conservatives have demanded as they revealed “soaring” levels of anti-social behaviour.
Incidents recorded by Scottish Government-controlled ScotRail this year increased to 1,760 up to July 21 - nearly nine a day - compared to 2,061 for the whole of 2024 (5.6 a day), according to a response to a a Freedom of Information request by the party.
These included verbal, sexual and physical abuse of staff and passengers on trains and in stations, along with objects being thrown, spitting and vandalism.
Separate British Transport Police (BTP) figures, reported to the Scottish Railways Policing Committee, showed reported sex offences increased by 15 per cent from 87 to 100 in the year to March compared to 2023-24.
In the latest figures, for April to June, reported sex offences against women and girls went up by 21 per cent from 14 to 17 compared to the same period last year.
The Scotsman revealed last month that BTP, which is the responsibility of the UK Government, had raised concern at being unable to keep four of its police offices in Scotland fully open after closing three others as officers quit for better paid jobs.
Scottish Conservatives transport spokesperson Sue Webber said: “The soaring number of anti-social behaviour cases on the ScotRail network this year is deeply alarming and further proof of how the SNP’s mismanagement is failing passengers.
“Some of these incidents are extremely serious. The safety of staff and passengers is being put at risk while SNP ministers appear blind to the reality of what is occurring on trains and at stations.
“If SNP ministers are serious about getting people out of their cars and onto public transport then they must urgently ensure the rail network is reliable and safe.”
Kevin Lindsay, Scottish organiser of train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “Any anti-social behaviour on the railway is unacceptable and we continue to work with ScotRail, Transport Scotland and the wider industry to eliminate it.
“However we have serious concerns to the cuts to BTP officer numbers and the closure of BTP offices as this will leave staff and passengers exposed to the perpetrators of such behaviours.”
ScotRail said it had tripled the number of staff with body-worn cameras, deployed extra staff on late-night trains on several routes and expanded its Travel Safe Team which focuses on hot spots.
Service delivery director Mark Ilderton said: “We are absolutely committed to making Scotland’s Railway as safe as it can be for our staff and our customers.
“There has been considerable investment across the network to help achieve this, and we will continue to work with BTP to take the strongest possible action against anyone guilty of criminal behaviour.”
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We are committed to maximising passenger and staff safety, particularly for women and girls. ScotRail staffing is at an all-time high and it has strengthened its commitment to providing a safe railway environment.
“A short-life working group has been established to map and assess the effectiveness of the current enforcement powers in relation to anti-social behaviour on Scotland’s Railway, with a view to considering where these can be strengthened or developed further.”
The Scottish Government agency said an official survey showed 96 per cent of passengers feel safe travelling by train during the day and 80 per cent in the evening, but it recognised “more needs to be done to fully maximise safety for all passengers and staff”.
A BTP spokesperson said: “We take assaults towards members of rail staff extremely seriously.
“We continue to work closely with rail companies to tackle offences and we will explore all investigative avenues to identify and prosecute offenders.
“This includes encouraging staff to report incidents to us and supporting the introduction of body worn cameras for frontline staff.
“We know from experience that they are a fantastic tool that not only record incidents, which we can then use to secure convictions, but also acts as a deterrent, helping to de-escalate situations.