Mainline rail assaults rise in latest annual safety statistics
24 September 2026
There were 11,289 reported workforce assaults on the mainline railway, up 12% compared with the previous year.
This total comprised 6,390 incidents of verbal abuse, 2,487 physical assaults and 2,412 threats. This is the first time ORR’s annual rail safety release has published workforce assaults across these three categories.
There were also 13,464 reported assaults against passengers and members of the public on the mainline, an increase of 36% and the highest number recorded since the series began in 2004. Harassment increased by 52% and common assaults by 30%.
On London Underground, assaults against passengers and members of the public increased 20% to 5,534 in the latest year, while reported workforce assaults fell 3% to 3,525.
Other key statistics, include:
- 18 passenger or public fatalities across Great Britain’s rail networks, four more than the previous year
- Of these 18 fatalities, 11 were at mainline level crossings, six more than the previous year and the highest number since 2014
- 12,551 workforce and passenger or public injuries on the mainline, up 6%
- 252 mainline train accidents, down 43% compared with the previous year. There were no train accidents resulting in workforce or passenger or public fatalities.
- 310 signals passed at danger (SPADs) on the mainline, 11 more than the previous year.
Reflecting on the statistics, Richard Hines, ORR’s Chief Inspector of Railways, said:
Notes to editors
1. Rail safety: April 2025 to March 2026 statistical release covers Great Britain’s mainline railway, London Underground and other non-mainline networks, including trams, metros, light rail, minor and heritage railways.
2. The statistics cover fatalities and injuries affecting workforce, passengers and members of the public, trespass, assaults, train accidents and signals passed at danger (SPADs). The main data sources are RSSB, Transport for London, British Transport Police and ORR.
3. Mainline assault figures are recorded by assault type. This means one incident can contribute to more than one category – for example, where someone experiences harassment and is then physically assaulted during the same incident. London Underground records incidents differently, according to the highest level of severity.
4. ORR sets out its expectations of rail employers on managing work-related violence and harassment in its ‘Workforce health and safety guidance’.
