TFL workers are more than twice as likely to be attacked at work than they were two years ago, and almost six times more likely than they were three years ago.

Information shared by Transport for London (TFL) has shown the staggering extent of violence committed against train station workers in the capital.

Accident At Work Claim UK, a specialist workplace accident claim service, obtained non-fatal incident data from TFL. The figures revealed that 691 assaults between April 2020 and March 2024, an average close to 250 per year, had left employees injured.

The news comes just weeks after an Elizabeth Line employee was murdered while working in their role as a customer experience assistant at Ilford station.

In February, officers from TFL’s Compliance, Policing, Operations and Security Directorate went on strike over pay conditions, with the Unite union claiming that workers had been “racially abused, spat at, attacked with a bottle, punched and headbutted.”

Incidents on the rise

According to the data seen by Accident At Work Claim UK, recorded injuries caused by assaults on staff have shot up by a worrying 468% across four years.

56 assaults were tallied between April 2020 and March 2021–a figure impacted by mass closures and train cancellations caused by the Covid pandemic.

In the post-restriction period, attacks on train station staff have continued rising. There were 136 in 2021/22, and a further 181 in 2022/23.

The 2023/24 financial year featured a concerning new high of 318 attacks, with the previous year’s tally exceeded in the space of just eight months.

Fatal attacks are rare and were not included in the data. But the brutal attack on Jorge Ortega, 61, in Ilford offered a chilling reminder of the fatal potential of assaults on train station staff.

Reacting on social media platform X to the “absolutely tragic” attack, Prime Minster Sir Kier Starmer said, “Nobody should have to face any violence at work — and certainly not something as shocking as this.”

Most common assault locations named

In the four financial years covered by the TFL data, there was not a single non-fatal attack on staff in Ilford. However, 171 other stations were all host to at least one incident.

The most common site of an attack was Victoria, with the station’s staff subjected to violence 25 times.

Stratford was second on the list, with 18 assault cases, followed by Baker Street and London Bridge (both 17).

Workers were set upon more than ten times at Oxford Circus, Canary Wharf, King’s Cross, Tottenham Court Road and Seven Sisters.

Despite again being named the busiest train station in the country by the Office of Rail and Road, Liverpool Street station saw only eight incidents across four years, fewer than the likes of Green Park (nine) and Walthamstow Central (ten).

The data states that five of the attacks led to staff members sustaining serious injuries. Another 683 led to workers being treated for minor harm.

Booking halls were by far the scene of most assaults. On 280 occasions, an assault was recorded as being committed against staff in the areas ahead of the gates.

Another 111 attacks happened at the gate line, potentially caused in part by attempted fare-dodgers.

134 incidents occurred on platforms, while train staff were attacked in a train car 15 times, plus another five times in the cab.

[An infographic will share details on the five assaults that led to serious injuries, and the three booking halls which were the scenes of the most violence]

More than 2,500 injuries befall TFL staff

Accident At Work Claim UK found that TFL staff were injured 2,560 times between April 2020 and March 2024, averaging 1.75 harmful incidents in and around stations every day.

Assaults were the leading cause of employee harm in that time.

Slips, trips and falls accounted for 508 of those injuries, followed by a disparate range of accidents.

161 were taken ill during their shift, while another 116 suffered harm during manual handling operations.

Another 90 cases of employee harm were caused by ‘Safety Critical Failures’, which TFL defines as mechanical and electrical failures.

‘Vandalism’ was the stated reason for 77 incidents leading to employee injuries, while falling objects brought about painful incidents for 45 workers.

The data suggests that injuries to TFL workers have doubled since 2020/21, with the number of cases steadily increasing year-on-year.

Accident At Work Claim UK provides a 24/7 advice service for people who are assessing their legal options after an injury suffered at work.

The service is operated by JF Law, a firm which has secured millions of pounds in personal injury compensation for its clients.