Some £2.5 million will be spent to curb rampant crime on the railway amid a spike in attacks.

The UK's largest train company will roll out 1,542 body-worn video cameras to its staff and double the number of enforcement officers it employs.

This comes after a successful trial on the West Coastway line between Brighton and Portsmouth last year - which saw a 60 per cent decrease in antisocial behaviour incidents.

Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express will also use a range of data sources to target hotspot stations and trains.

Railway workers have been the target of rising verbal and physical abuse for several years, from groups of youths terrorising railway lines to staff being attacked while helping disabled passengers.

In the past year, the company has seen a 23 per cent increase in reported verbal staff assaults and a 10 per cent increase in physical assaults.

GTR safety boss Samantha FaceyGTR safety boss Samantha Facey (Image: Peter Alvey / GTR)

 

Samantha Facey, health, safety and security director at GTR said: “The rise in antisocial behaviour is being felt across industries and communities nationwide.

"Whilst we cannot solve the problem on our own, we hope that with increased tools and resources, as well as closer working with other industry partners, we can begin to turn the dial on this kind of behaviour.

“Everyone travelling with us deserves to get home safely, and our colleagues deserve to be treated with respect; physical or verbal abuse of any kind will not be tolerated.

"Our Antisocial Behaviour Improvement Plan not only demonstrates that we are serious about tackling this issue, but we are also seeing positive results since its launch.”

The new plan sets out six pledges to bring these incidents down.

  • Roll out more than 1,500 body-worn video cameras to frontline staff
  • Double the number of travel safe officers across the network
  • Develop an education programme for schools
  • Improve training and aftercare so staff feel suppported
  • Hire more staff in safety division
  • Work closer with policing and prosecutions teams to remove offenders from the railway

The rail company is also working with the British Transport Police's workplace violence coordination unit to support staff who have experienced assault while on the job.

Read more: Woman attacked by another woman on bus

The force's chief superintendent Chris Casey said: "We are focused on ensuring stations and trains remains a safe and pleasant environment for the travelling public and for railway staff.

"We will continue to work closely with our partners in the rail industry and in local communities to tackle and prevent antisocial behaviour, and prosecute those that threaten and abuse others on the railway network.

“We understand how intimidating antisocial behaviour can be, and anyone who witnesses or experiences anti-social behaviour can discreetly contact our text-to-report number 61016 to report the incident without alerting anyone else.”

GTR will also employ a security improvement manager, a safety and security school engagement manager and a body worn video project manager to oversee the rollout of the scheme.