Reports of violence and thuggish behaviour on the railways in Sussex have risen by more than 40% in the last five years.

Figures obtained by The Argus show there were 130 more recorded assaults or public order offences at railway stations and on trains last year than in 2003.

Police are now training a “task force” of railway workers to tackle bad behaviour on trains, patrol carriages and target troublespots.

In total there were five crimes a day on the railways last year - 1,250 at stations and 646 on trains.

In 2003 there were 1,382 crimes at stations and 630 crimes on trains, a slight fall, despite bicycle thefts at stations rising from 110 to 302, or 174%.

The total number of assaults on the rail network rose from 225 to 253, and taken together violent crime and public order offences rose by 43% from 299 in 2003 to 429 in 2008.

Police said the figures should be viewed alongside the total number of rail passengers - 140,000 a day on Southern trains alone.

They believe a rise in reports of assaults may be due in part to work they have done to encourage staff to report attacks, and a growing confidence in the public in coming forward with complaints.

A British Transport Police spokeswoman said: “There are far better reporting processes in place now. Over the years we have been encouraging rail operators to get their staff to report crimes.

“The biggest problems we have are theft from ticket machines and bike thefts.

“Five crimes a day is five too many and we are working all the time to target hotspot locations to keep the railways safe for the travelling public.”

Plans are under way to launch a “task force” to tackle problems on trains when they arise.

A team of railway staff is due to be specially trained and supervised by a British Transport Police officer to deal with disorder and other crimes on trains and at stations.

The workers will patrol carriages, providing a presence late at night as well as at peak times, in a role similar to that of private security guards.

Sussex is expected to get its first task force in May.

Crime figures at individual stations have been affected by trends in bike theft and vandalism.

In 2008 there were 36 bike thefts at Worthing station, compared with six in 2003.

At West Worthing there were 16 vandalism incidents, compared with six five years earlier.

Several stations have seen big falls in crime. Offences at Gatwick more than halved, with 31 thefts in 2008 compared with 93 in 2003.

The figures were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

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