Published Article

HeadlineAre knife attacks really on the rise on public transport in London?

Short HeadlineAre knife attacks really on the rise on public transport?

StandfirstThere were four knife attacks in London stations in just one week in November and heightened anxiety surrounding them across the UK. So, why are there so many knife attacks on public transport?

With 4 knife attacks in one week in London, concern is rising over safety on public transport.

All 3 incidents in such close time proximity turns attention towards growing concerns for public safety on London transport

In the first 6 months of this year, Transport for London (TFL) recorded 4,423 reported violent offences on its services. This is 58 fewer offenses than in the first six months of the previous year.

TFL found that 39% of its users have felt worried about their personal safety on public transport in the past 3 months. 9% of Londoners claim that their concerns have caused them to stop using public transport altogether.

However, knife attacks on public is not new to London. In 2023, The Daily Mail found that violent crimes on the London underground service have been steadily growing since 2016.

Moreover, this increase in violent attacks is not exclusive to London. The Office of Rail and Road’s annual report for 2025 found that there were 10,231 assaults to passengers on trains from 2024 to 2025. High profile cases from this year include the incident in Huntington and a man was pushed onto train tracks at Lime Street station in Liverpool in October.

However, TFL are attempting to tackle the issue. Their website claims that over 2,000 police officers patrol the network and have extensive CCTV across their entire transport system.

On BBC Breakfast, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander reassured the public that for every 1 million passenger journeys in the UK, only 27 crimes are committed. However City News is not aware on the exact statistics on this for Londoners.

Despite public concerns regarding their safety on TFL, the body claims that crime on London public transports reflects that on London-wide crime. This means that according to their data, Londoners are not more or less likely to be victims of crime on TFL as they are anywhere else in the city.