FPÖ Inquiry: 1,834 Assaults on ÖBB Employees Registered Between 2020 and 2025

Criticism of Lack of Transparency

The FPÖ accuses the government of withholding key figures on safety in public spaces. "Es gibt keinen sachlichen Grund, sie nicht offenzulegen – außer einen politischen", heißt es aus der Partei. The FPÖ therefore announced two parliamentary inquiries to clarify the factual situation and put pressure on the Interior Ministry.

The high figure of 1,834 incidents is spread over five years, corresponding on average to more than one assault per day on ÖBB employees. The registered cases reportedly range from verbal insults and threats to physical attacks. This puts the staff of one of the country's largest companies in the focus of a broader debate about safety in the public service and in local public transport.

Situation Among ÖBB Staff

The issue has also been known within the federal railways for some time. Employees in several federal states, including Lower Austria, reportedly speak of increasing aggression in contact with passengers. The ÖBB itself had already announced measures before the current parliamentary initiative to better protect staff — including stab-proof vests and additional training.

With the inquiries now announced, the FPÖ particularly wants to clarify how many of the documented assaults were actually reported to the police and how many proceedings ultimately led to a conviction. Hafenecker points to a gap between registered incidents, police processing, and consequences under residence law, which he criticizes as politically motivated.

Open Questions for the Government

The opposition argues that no serious assessment of the security situation is possible without complete data. Only once it is known how many offenders are actually expelled from the country after a conviction can it be judged whether existing instruments are effective. The FPÖ therefore announced that it would continue the parliamentary debate on this issue in the coming weeks.

The Interior Ministry's response to the allegations is still pending. Until the inquiries are answered, it remains unclear to what extent the figures are actually documented at the official level. What is clear, according to the inquiry's authors, is that the daily violence against ÖBB employees will remain a political issue — regardless of which statistics are ultimately officially confirmed.

With the two inquiries, the FPÖ aims not only to make the data situation more transparent, but also to trigger a broader debate about the protection of public service employees. The fact that the figure of 1,834 assaults over five years makes the scale of the problem visible is likely to further increase the pressure on the government to deliver robust answers.