After fatal attack on train conductor: Deutsche Bahn expands security equipment

At an event at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, the DB board member responsible for regional transport, Harmen van Zijderveld, announced a series of concrete measures. "Wir erleben momentan in unserer Gesellschaft eine durchaus schwierige Entwicklung", said van Zijderveld. Incidents are increasing, and employees are increasingly finding themselves in operational situations "die das übersteigen, was wir kannten", the Deutsche Presse-Agentur quoted one of the program's initiators as saying.

Nationwide, significantly more security personnel are to be deployed at stations going forward. At 20 major hubs – including the main stations in Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Bremen, and Cologne – Deutsche Bahn is increasing its presence through the special program. The company has a total of around 4,500 security personnel deployed at stations.

More personnel at stations and on trains

For ticket inspections, DB Regio intends to deploy a two-person crew as a matter of principle going forward: instead of a single train conductor, an additional security employee or at least a second inspector is to be on board. The company is responding to the fact that, according to surveys by the Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsgewerkschaft (EVG), many employees feel a pronounced sense of insecurity in their work.

The use of body cams, which Deutsche Bahn is now expanding, has already been trialled. Employees can carry the cameras voluntarily. According to van Zijderveld, the pilot went well: "Von über 500 Vorfällen, bei denen die Bodycams eingeschaltet werden mussten, kam es lediglich in einem Fall zu einem schweren Übergriff." A rate of 50 percent is to be reached by mid-year.

Body cams, vests, and protective helmets

From July, a trial wearing stab-proof vests is to be added, according to DB information, expanding personal protective equipment. If the pilot project proves successful, the vests – along with protective helmets – could be rolled out nationwide from 2027. Posters from the ongoing "#mehrAchtung" campaign pick up slogans such as "Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar. Auch für alle in Uniform."

In addition, Deutsche Bahn is relying on artificial intelligence. The around 11,000 cameras in stations and thousands more on trains will be analyzed using AI going forward. "Die KI wertet die Aufnahmen dann aus und meldet Konflikte, etwa einen Streit unter Fahrgästen oder Randalierer", van Zijderveld explained to dpa. Heike Moll, chair of the Group Works Council, underscored the scale of the problem: "Beleidigungen, Anspucken, Schläge, sexuelle Übergriffe und Körperverletzung sind keine Ausnahme mehr."

Statistics show very different situations by region

According to the Federal Police, the federal government recorded around 2,690 attacks on Deutsche Bahn employees in 2025 – an increase of about eleven percent compared to the previous year. In its own internal statistics, which also include unreported incidents, Deutsche Bahn records seven percent fewer physical attacks at DB Regio for 2025, but points to large regional differences. In the Mitte region, for example, the number of assaults rose by 15 percent in the same period.

Training of employees remains part of the package: de-escalation rather than combat is the stated goal, with safety training mandatory every two years. "Wir wollen, dass sie sicher nach Hause kommen, nicht, dass sie Kämpfer werden", said training manager Jörg Aschermann. Jennifer Grongold, the train conductor attacked in the spring while waiting for her shift on a platform, had also experienced the growing violence against rail staff.

Deutsche Bahn emphasizes that the measures are part of a joint initiative with the Federal Ministry of Transport and the Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV). Posters, more personnel, and better equipment are intended to send a signal to the public: "Angst hat in unseren Zügen keinen Platz."