Rail staff report rising violence as unions demand respect

Train attendants in Switzerland are reporting more frequent and serious assaults by passengers since the coronavirus pandemic, SRF reported on Friday. The SEV transport workers union and the VöV public transport association are calling for greater respect and enough staff on public transport services.

Two attendants described their experiences during an awareness day.

Jeylan Beck, a customer attendant with SBB, said he was once alone on a 13 carriage InterCity train travelling from Chur to Zurich when he encountered a man who had not paid for his meal or held a ticket. “He pushed and punched me through the entire train, humiliated and insulted me, and also spat on me,” Beck said.

Other passengers did not help him, he said. Instead, they stood in his way and prevented him from moving away. “I was completely at the mercy of the situation. And that affected me,” Beck said. SBB supported him, and criminal proceedings have now been completed. He said the conclusion of the case was helping him regain his peace of mind.

Helene Bürgin, a customer attendant with the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn railway, said a young man had knocked her to the ground without reason and continued hitting her. Other passengers helped her, while the man escaped through a window and was later arrested. It later emerged that he had been suffering from mental health problems and delusions.

Bürgin said she had focused on recovering and had done so successfully. Physical attacks were rare on her railway, she said, which generally carried a peaceful, tourist-oriented clientele. Between 80 and 90 percent of passengers were decent and friendly.

At a round table convened by the Federal Office of Transport on July 8, officials discussed aggression and violence against public transport staff and passengers. Topics included body cameras and allowing transport police to use Tasers.

The Federal Council responded a week earlier by announcing plans to create a legal basis for transport police to use Tasers. It also wants transport companies to be able, under certain conditions, to activate real-time monitoring in vehicles.

Bürgin said she wanted passengers to show more decency. Beck also said the atmosphere had worsened since the pandemic and that the threshold for aggressive behaviour had fallen considerably. He hopes other passengers will show more civic courage and help in emergencies.

SBB records around ten attacks on its staff each day, according to the SEV union. Switzerland’s police crime statistics show around two incidents per day in public transport premises that are prosecuted under criminal law.

“The safety of passengers and staff must be the highest priority, and the necessary resources must be made available,” said Barbara Keller of SEV.