Crimes against public employees, including railway staff and federal police, surged in 2024, marking a troubling trend of escalating violence in Germany’s transportation network.
According to data from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, shared in response to an inquiry by BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht, 2,824 crimes were committed against railway employees or service providers by the end of November 2024, up from 2,650 for the entirety of 2023. These incidents ranged from physical assaults to theft, excluding verbal insults.
Federal police officers, too, faced increased violence. By November 2024, 9,705 officers were recorded as victims of crimes, exceeding the 9,641 cases in 2023. The rise in attacks reflects growing dangers for those working to ensure public safety and transport efficiency.
The increase in crimes against public employees is part of a broader trend of heightened violence within Germany’s rail system. Train stations and trains have seen a significant rise in physical injuries and attacks. From January to October 2024, 10,600 cases of physical injury were reported at train stations, already surpassing the 10,115 cases recorded in 2023. On trains along open routes, 2,661 attacks occurred in the first 10 months of the year, nearly equaling the total for 2023.
The escalation also extends to property crimes such as pickpocketing, with 10,185 cases reported at stations and 10,116 onboard trains by the end of October.
Foreign nationals are notably overrepresented in crime statistics, particularly for violent offenses. In knife-related crimes at train stations, which have more than doubled since 2019, 35 percent of suspects were foreign nationals, despite foreigners comprising only 16 percent of Germany’s population. Among the most common nationalities implicated were Syrians, Poles, Moroccans, and Turks.
In February, a rail employee in Karlsruhe was brutally attacked by a migrant male during a ticket inspection. The attacker not only punched, kicked, and choked the 57-year-old worker but also humiliated her by urinating on her in front of witnesses. The suspect then assaulted others at a nearby supermarket before fleeing the scene.
Another incident in March saw a Malian woman riding without a ticket in Magdeburg lash out at a conductor, scratching his face and throat before attacking two federal police officers who arrived at the scene.
The issue has drawn attention to the broader challenges of integration and security within Germany’s increasingly diverse society. In Thuringia, train conductors were even advised not to check the tickets of foreign passengers in some cases to avoid confrontations.
The surge in violence has prompted calls for action from political leaders. Sahra Wagenknecht criticized Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, emphasizing the need for greater respect and protection for public employees. “Police officers must not be the nation’s whipping boys,” Wagenknecht said, urging reforms to safeguard those on the frontlines.
Last year, in response to rising sexual violence at Berlin train stations, the German Green Party proposed female-only trains. However, critics argued that such measures fail to address the root causes of violence, namely Germany’s changing demography, with federal police data showing that foreigners accounted for 59 percent of sexual crimes at train stations.
This is similar to France where interior ministry data revealed that 69 percent of violent crimes on public transport in the Île-de-France region are committed by foreign nationals.
The breakdown of law and order on public railways has also been experienced in Italy with three high-profile attacks on train conductors in November last year, including an incident in Genoa where a conductor was stabbed by two North African migrants during a routine ticket inspection.
The incidents resulted in union strikes and led to Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini vowing to increase security on trains and at stations.
