TSSA, Britain’s second largest rail union, is calling for a zero tolerance approach to violence on the railways after new figures revealed another increase in assaults on staff.

British Transport Police’s annual report showed that violent crime on London Underground has risen by 22.1 per cent, mostly due to a 29 per cent increase in assaults on staff, which now accounts for a third of reported incidents.

TSSA is concerned that the fragmented rail industry has not yet settled on a common method of reporting workforce assaults, resulting in discrepancies between reporting rates in train operating companies.

The union fears that this leads to the under-reporting of assaults on rail staff, which was named as a major health and safety risk in an independent survey of TSSA members.

General secretary Gerry Doherty said: “It is unacceptable that rail staff are bearing the brunt of the public’s frustration with a failing rail service through physical violence, threats and verbal abuse. Train operators have to realise that fear of violence is just as stressful and debilitating for our members as actual incidents.

“Staff are under intolerable stress and we call on the industry to take the issue seriously by introducing a zero tolerance approach to customers who behave in this way. Employers must work with unions and staff to help minimise the threat.”