Investigation Reveals:

An Attack on ÖBB Employees Almost Every Day

For many employees of the Austrian Federal Railways, verbal abuse, threats, and physical attacks have been part of everyday life for years.(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

Following a fatal attack on a train attendant in Germany, as well as alarming incidents here at home, a parliamentary inquiry has revealed for the first time the number of violent attacks on rail employees. Shocking: An ÖBB employee is physically attacked almost every day.

Verbal abuse, threats, and physical attacks have been part of everyday life for many employees of the Austrian Federal Railways for years. Official figures on the latter are now available for the first time: The response to the inquiry from the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure to FPÖ Secretary-General and Transportation Spokesperson Christian Hafenecker reveals exactly 1,834 assaults on ÖBB employees from 2020 to 2025.

Train attendants, ticket inspection teams, and security personnel are particularly affected by attacks from aggressive passengers. Most incidents occurred during ticket inspections.

One in two attacks on security personnel results in injury
A quarter of those attacked—459—even sustained injuries as a result of the attacks. This proportion was particularly high among security personnel: according to the report, nearly one in two attacks on them resulted in an injury.

Verbal abuse, threats, and physical attacks have been part of everyday life for many ÖBB employees for years.(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

“The figures show the alarming extent of violence against ÖBB employees,” says Hafenecker, who laments, however, that the response to the parliamentary inquiry does not indicate how many criminal complaints were filed. Nor is it known “who was charged and who was convicted.”

Udo Landbauer, Deputy Governor of Lower Austria—a state that naturally has a high volume of commuter traffic—is calling on the federal government to provide “annual statistics on violence in public transit, broken down by state and train station” as well as the widespread use of stab-proof vests.

Stab-proof vests being tested, body cams in use
These are currently being tested by security personnel—who are exposed to a particularly high risk. In addition, increased police presence, joint inspections, and the widespread use of body cameras are intended to better protect ÖBB staff—and, of course, passengers as well—as the ÖBB announced in June.

The ten-point plan also includes targeted operations, de-escalation and communication training, as well as bans from the premises or prompt filing of charges as part of the zero-tolerance policy toward perpetrators of violence.