Violence against German railway workers and federal police officers has risen sharply this year, with more than 6,300 staff targeted in criminal offences between January and May 2026. Railway employees faced 662 cases of bodily harm and 175 incidents of dangerous bodily harm, alongside 661 threats, while federal officers recorded 3,734 acts of resistance, 1,427 physical assaults, and 875 threats over the same period.
Railway staff are now enduring an average of roughly eight physical attacks per day, up from five daily in the first ten months of 2025. The toll includes a 36-year-old ticket inspector killed in February by a fare-evading passenger in Rhineland-Palatinate, with a verdict in the trial expected on 9 July.
The figures underscore growing concerns over safety for public-service workers in Germany, as transport operators and law enforcement agencies grapple with escalating hostility from passengers and members of the public.