Sharp rise in the number of anti-social behaviour incidents at Irish Rail stations

Ken Foxe

There was a sharp rise in the number of reportable crime or anti-social behaviour incidents at Irish Rail stations or on board trains in the first half of this year.

New figures show that 771 incidents were logged between January and June, up nearly 20 per cent from the 645 tallied in the same period in 2024.

The upswing came against the backdrop of increasing passenger numbers, with 23.7 million passenger journeys reported compared to 22.24 million in the first half of last year.

The latest data shows that in the second quarter of this year, Irish Rail noted 401 reportable incidents, including 11 cases of lewd behaviour and 38 of assault.

There were also reports of 27 instances of fighting, 262 examples of aggressive behaviour, and 28 instances of theft of someone’s property.

A further 412 less serious non-reportable incidents were also logged by the rail operator between April and June.

Listed in that category were 40 instances where someone interfered with passenger emergency systems, and 35 cases of loitering.

Also logged were 97 cases of boisterous behaviour, 19 of criminal damage or vandalism, and 161 of general anti-social behaviour.

Other incidents logged in the second quarter of 2025 included 364 involving drugs, alcohol, and smoking – down from the same period last year.

There were 25 cases of possession of illegal drugs and 148 reports where a person was clearly under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

Irish Rail also listed 174 cases of trespass on railway lines, where individuals were crossing tracks or attempting to vandalise property.

A safety report said the increase in incidents was at least partly attributable to increased security patrols and detection.

They said that of the 38 assaults between April and June, 7 of them were on staff of the rail operator.

The report said: “Additional resources, seeing interventions at major terminus stations, have contributed to the increase in incidents recorded.”

It added that a new monitoring group working with twenty rapid garda response hubs had also been established for the intercity network.

Irish Rail said as well there had been a steady decline in self-harm incidents through a focus on monitoring hotspots and quick intervention.

The rail operator said the number of people taking train services around the country was rising rapidly.

An information note said: “Passenger journeys are again seeing an acceleration in growth, increasing by 9.7 per cent overall year on year for Quarter 2 [of 2025].

“Intercity in particular has seen strong growth, well exceeding previous pre-COVID records, with DART and Commuter approaching their previous record highs.”