Irish Rail logs 20% rise in cases of aggressive behaviour in a year

Of the violent incidents recorded, two of them were on employees of the railway service or their contractors. File picture

Irish Rail responded to more than 170 serious incidents of anti-social behaviour on its service in the first quarter of this year including assaults, lewd behaviour, and theft.

The rail operator said between January and March, there had been 92 cases of aggressive behaviour, nearly 20% more than at the same time last year. There were also 27 cases of assault, another 27 instances of fighting and passenger disturbance, and six reports of lewd behaviour.

Other reportable incidents included 21 incidents of theft of third-party property, according to Irish Rail’s latest bulletin on customer safety and security. Of the violent incidents recorded, two of them were on employees of the railway service or their contractors.

There were also 221 anti-social behaviour incidents that were categorised as non-reportable, a fall of around 12% since last year. These incidents included 52 cases of boisterous behaviour, 24 of cycling or skateboarding in a dangerous fashion, and 33 cases of loitering.

Also logged by Irish Rail were 16 incidents involving misuse of passenger emergency systems, 58 of criminal damage or vandalism, and three cases of theft of company property.

There were 315 incidents involving use of drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes where it was not allowed, up 25% on this time in 2022. Irish Rail listed 88 cases of smoking on train services or other places it was prohibited, and 87 incidents of consumption of alcohol where it was barred.

There were also 56 incidents involving people who were very obviously under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and 84 cases of possession of illegal drugs.

The rail operator also reported a sharp rise in cases of trespass with 159 in the first quarter of this year, up a massive 72% since this time in 2022. Irish Rail said much of this activity was very “site-specific” to Limerick with electronic security detections and other enforcement being used to target it.

The highest levels of anti-social behaviour were witnessed on DART services in the greater Dublin area, and the Northern line connecting Dublin with Co. Louth. There were 12 “reportable” incidents (the most serious category) logged at each of Cork and Limerick, and 10 in Waterford.

Irish Rail said during the first three months of this year, there had been a sharp rebound in passenger journeys aboard their services. The numbers travelling by train rose 64% from 5.91 million to 9.67 million, according to data in their bulletin on safety and security.

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An information note added: “The issue of safety and security on our public transport services is one of keen interest to our customers, our employees, and the wider public.

“While anti-social behaviour is a societal issue, and the overwhelming majority of journeys occur without incident, we must ensure that we are providing the safest possible travelling and working environment for customers and employees respectively.”

It has previously been reported that rail unions have campaigned for a dedicated public transport police unit to improve safety on board trains for staff and passengers alike.

A survey conducted by members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party in Dublin in October 2022 found that some 80% of the general public would support the introduction of such a unit, though then-Taoiseach Micheál Martin conceded Ireland is still "some bit off" implementing transport police.