Almost 1,000 antisocial behaviour incidents on Irish trains last year 

The rise in antisocial behaviour comes as Irish Rail reported one of their highest-ever total number of passengers in 2023. Stock picture

Irish Rail reported almost 1,000 incidents of antisocial behaviour last year.

The level of antisocial behaviour on trains is on the rise, according to data from the travel company.

There were 990 incidents reportable to the National Transport Authority (NTA) in 2023, up from 644 the previous year.

Among the incidents were 110 assaults, 561 instances of aggressive behaviour, and 105 incidents of theft.

Reports under each of these categories were at their highest in the last three months of the year with aggressive behaviour incidents more than doubling in the final quarter of 2023 compared to the first.

Of the 110 reported assaults, 21 were on employees of Irish Rail.

There were a total of 55 reportable incidents in the Cork region last year, down two on the previous year while in Limerick there were 50 incidents, up from 34 in 2022.

Last November, Gardaí were called to an incident on board a service between Limerick and Tralee.

It involved a male passenger who was accused of "serious antisocial behaviour" resulting in the injury of another passenger. A number of passengers had come to the assistance of the passenger, believed to have been a woman.

Earlier in the year, the introduction of 'quieter coaches' on the Cork-Dublin service was reported to have resulted in some verbal confrontations between some passengers and staff members.

The rise in antisocial behaviour comes as Irish Rail reported that, in 2023, it carried one of its highest-ever yearly totals of passengers.

An estimated 45.5 million journeys were made last year, up from 35.8 million in 2022.

The rail operator also cites increased detection and additional resources seeing interventions at major terminus stations as a reason for the high number of antisocial incidents.

As part of Operation Twin Track and Operation Saul, there were increased patrols by An Garda Síochána including by the dog unit, mounted units and support unit.

Other incidents reported to the NTA last year include 271 incidents of passengers smoking, 355 consuming alcohol, and 256 in possession of illicit drugs.

There were also 36 incidents of lewd behaviour, 17 of which occurred between October and December.