Sexual assaults and harassment reports on trains risen by more than a third

Reports of sexual assault and harassment on trains have risen by more than a third in the past 10 years, according to data requested by a BBC investigation.

Last year, 2,661 incidents were reported in England, Scotland and Wales; One in 10 people were children, some under 13 years old.

Rhiannon Williams said she was sexually assaulted on the train earlier this year, recalling: “You can’t go anywhere, you can’t run away. I had to sit there and take it.”

British Transport Police said the increase was a “concern” and would take any allegations “seriously”, while the group representing train companies added operators had “zero tolerance for sexual harassment”.

Data collected through the BBC’s Freedom of Information request to British Transport Police revealed a 37% increase in reports of sexual offenses in England, Scotland and Wales since 2015.

Warning: This story contains details that some may find upsetting.

Rhiannon said she was sexually assaulted by a group of drunk men on a train this summer as she headed home to West Wales after a day out with friends at the seaside resort of Tenby in Pembrokeshire.

“It was disturbing and scary,” the 18-year-old told the BBC.

“It’s a feeling of being quite cornered. You’re on the train, you can’t go anywhere, you can’t escape. It definitely made me feel trapped.”

A witness reported the abuse to British Transport Police and officers are still investigating the incident, which occurred in August.

Rhiannon, who is from Llanelli, added: “It’s because these situations have become normalised, the attitude that boys will be boys and women just have to put up with it.”

“It shouldn’t be like this, these situations are extremely frightening and disturbing to women.”

Sex crimes may include rape, sexual assault or sexual harassment. Police say harassment is anything that makes you uncomfortable or inappropriate, such as staring, constantly asking questions or yelling.

Despite the increase, officers fear sexual assault and sexual harassment on trains and stations are still under-reported, and are concerned some may not report these incidents to police at all.

Like Maddie Waktare, who said she was sexually assaulted by a man sitting next to her while traveling by train from Waterloo, London.

“It was a busy train, but it took up more space than it needed,” the 30-year-old actress said.

“His body was moving towards me and that made me uncomfortable. It was summer and I was wearing a dress and he slid his hand up the side of my thigh.”

Maddie said freezing. “He kept doing it,” he added.

“I stood up forcefully and glared at him. I was in shock and disbelief. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.”

Now Maddie is angry because he didn’t respond.

“I never thought I would be someone who would freeze,” he said.

“It made me realize how normalized this has become in society. The problem is, you don’t know what these people are capable of, they start with something like this and then their crimes can get worse. I should have reported this.”

Of 22,100 reports of sexual crimes on trains in the last 10 years, detectives were unable to identify the suspect in half of the cases.

The UK government said it had committed £17 million to improve British Transport Police’s access to station CCTV to “ensure criminals are more quickly identified and brought to justice”.

As part of the BBC investigation, footage of the arrest of a train conductor on the station platform by the British Transport Police for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old female passenger was released.

Nicholas McMurray was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on a mainline train between London Paddington and Swansea.

Great Western Railway (GWR) train manager McMurray was talking on her phone during a journey from Cardiff when he asked to check her train ticket before straightening her dress and sexually assaulting her.

On arrival at Swansea Station the passenger reported the incident to British Transport Police and McMurray was arrested on the platform.

Officers placed clear bags in their hands to preserve the evidence before they were taken to the police station.

The 38-year-old, from Swansea, was found guilty of sexual assault and assault by penetration at Swansea Crown Court earlier this year and was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

GWR said McMurray was summarily dismissed.

“He resigned with immediate effect during the disciplinary process, where the likely outcome was immediate dismissal,” a spokesman said.

British Transport Police said McMurray “completely abused his position and took advantage of this young woman”.

Sexual offenses involving children under 18 on trains have tripled in the last decade, from 146 reports in 2015 to 443 in 2025. A total of more than 2,900 reports involving children have been made in the last 10 years.

“Whilst any rise in crime figures is worrying, it is important to contextualise that this is partly due to an increase in intelligence-led operations involving plainclothes officers specially trained to identify criminals,” Det Ch Insp Nia Mellor, of British Transport Police, said.

These undercover officers patrol stations looking for “people too busy catching trains.”

“There are people moving up and down the platforms trying to position themselves closer to single women or women who may be a little more vulnerable due to intoxication,” Sergeant Morgan Andrews said.

Officers also think men need to be more aware of how women might feel about being approached.

While on the train from Bedford to London with a friend, Julia received unwanted attention from a group of men.

“They kept looking and talking in a different language and it felt like they were planning something,” said the 22-year-old actor, who is originally from Switzerland but now lives in London.

He said that by the end of the train journey, the men began following them.

“We ran so they wouldn’t follow us to the subway or home, you don’t know what their intentions are,” he said.

“I was really worried. I was scared, scared for my friend.”

Anyone who has experienced or witnessed sexual assault or harassment on the rail network is advised to send a message to British Transport Police on 61016, giving details of the incident, location and time.

“No woman or girl should be allowed to feel uncomfortable during rail travel,” Det Ch Insp Mellor said.

“Unacceptable behavior on the network has serious consequences and will not be tolerated.

“We are relentless in our efforts to hold these criminals to account and ensure the rail network remains a safe place for everyone.”

Rail Delivery Group, which represents Britain’s train operators, said any allegations would be “taken seriously”.

“There is zero tolerance for sexual harassment on our network,” said their CEO, Jacqueline Starr.

The UK government has said people should be able to use the rail network “without fear for their safety”.

“An increase in reports does not necessarily mean more incidents are occurring,” a government spokesman added.

“This may reflect that more victims now feel they can come forward due to increased awareness and messaging on the network.”

If you are affected by the issues raised in this story, you can visit: BBC Action Line.

Additional reporting by Lucy Dady and Tom Curd