GERMANY: Body cameras for employees, increased training in de-escalation techniques and higher numbers of security staff are among changes agreed as part of an Action Plan for Greater Safety in Rail Transport.
The measures were announced as part of a conference organised by Deutsche Bahn on February 13 following the death of a DB employee who was assaulted during a ticket check on February 2. Attendees included federal and regional politicians, as well as trade union representatives.
DB reports that 3 262 physical assaults on staff took place during 2025, up from 2 374 in 2016. Around half of all such attacks occurred in regional trains.
Under the Action Plan all customer-facing staff on stations as well as on local and long-distance trains are to receive body cameras this year. Video surveillance in trains and on stations is also to be increased.
Other measures include making it optional from March for DB Regio staff to ask passengers for proof of identity during ticket controls that have previously required it, as well as further development of the existing staff mobile emergency call button. DB also plans to increase numbers of DB Sicherheit security staff on stations by 200; DB security staff currently number around 4 500, and the railway can also call on nearly 6 000 federal police.
Germany’s railway union the Eisenbahn & Verkehrsgewerkschaft has called for double-staffing on local trains, while police union Gewerkschaft der Polizei has argued for increased patrols.
Expanding personnel numbers on local trains is to be one of the topics of discussion at a conference of Land transport ministers in March.
