First 2024 figures show more assaults in German rail stations

There were more crimes of bodily harm in German railway stations in the first 10 months of 2024 than in all of 2023, the Federal Police in Potsdam near Berlin reported on Sunday, reported dpa.

From January to October of last year there were around 10,600 incidences compared to the 10,115 cases reported to the police in all of 2023.

Assaults reported for trains running on open routes outside of rail stations amounted to 2,661 by the end of October 2024 - about the same as in all of 2023. In 2024, most incidences - some 1,418 - occurred in regional transport, with 171 on high-speed trains.

Thousands of security forces deployed

"We, like the authorities, observe a continuously decreasing threshold for violence," said a spokeswoman for the German railroad or Deutsche Bahn (DB).

Daily, around 20 million travellers and visitors frequent the 5,700 stations across the country. Nationwide, nearly 6,000 officers of the Federal Police and around 4,500 security DB personnel are on duty round the clock, the information showed.

Thieves target hand luggage

The theft of bags and hand luggage is also a problem. According to the Federal Police, by the end of October, 10,185 such offences were reported in stations, and 10,118 in trains. This represents a slight increase compared to the entire previous year, according to the data.

Bag and hand luggage theft was particularly a problem in the 10 months of last year on high-speed trains (3,300), but also in regional transport (3,087), as per the Federal Police. The statistics cover all railway companies, the police said.

Video cameras in stations and trains

DB had expanded the number of video cameras in stations to a total of 11,000 by the end of 2024. Additionally, the company had significantly increased the number of video cameras in its regional and S-Bahn trains to over 50,000 — more than 80% of all local transport trains thus had video technology, the spokeswoman further stated.

"The use of video technology at stations is an important component to further enhance security."

DB invests more than €200 million ($206 million) each year for increased security, but travellers are also being made more aware of crime problems, for example through loudspeaker announcements. In stations, but sometimes also in trains, there are advisories, warning passengers not to leave their luggage unattended.