A total of 2,102 cases of aggression towards staff from national railway company SNCB were recorded last year, according to figures requested by N-VA MP Dorien Cuylaerts from Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés).
In 2023, nearly 2,300 instances of aggression were recorded.
Out of the 2,102 cases last year, 1,158 involved insults or threats, 652 involved minor assaults, and 292 involved serious injuries. These incidents resulted in 312 cases of work incapacity, totalling over 47,000 hours lost, averaging 151 hours per person.
Train conductors and Securail staff are the primary victims of these aggression cases, with the former recording 1,092 incidents and the latter 744.
The slight decrease in cases compared to 2023 is insufficient for N-VA MP Cuylaerts. "We must not be blinded by averages," she stated. "Aggression is never normal – not on the platform, not on the train. Each case is one too many."
Cuylaerts advocates a wider use of body cameras in stations and trains to address the situation.
