After incidents at two railway stations in Frankfurt/Main and Voerde last year, in which two people were intentionally pushed from the platform into the path of oncoming trains and killed, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Deutsche Bahn AG and the Federal Police have launched additional measures to further increase security in railway stations. In its report, the working group established to look into this matter recommends possible technical, constructional, personnel and strategic measures to be taken at seven selected pilot railway stations which in part have already been implemented.

Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer said: "Travelling by rail is one of the safest ways to travel. I want to thank all those with responsibilities in this field for this, above all our Federal Police officers. The horrific incidents in Voerde and Frankfurt last year, however, highlighted the need for action to make our stations and trains even safer. The measures we have now agreed will increase safety and security in railway stations and on trains, because the safety of our citizens is our highest concern."

Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer added: "An even higher level of security in railway stations - that is our common objective. With this in mind, we have worked out a package of measures which includes better CCTV, clearer design of platforms, more information and awareness-raising for passengers and field tests for new technologies. In a nutshell: more protection for passengers during their stay or while they board, leave or wait for their train."

Ronald Pofalla, DB Board Member for Infrastructure, commented: "Security first. Together with the Federal Government and the Federal Police we will ensure even greater security for passengers at railway stations. This includes increasing the number of CCTV cameras markedly by about 30 percent to 11.000 across Germany."

More CCTV

The Federal Government and Deutsche Bahn are planning to expand the use of CCTV and are investing about 180 million euro to this end. In the next few years, the number of video cameras on platforms will increase by a third to about 11,000 cameras. Currently, about 8,000 cameras are installed at 800 stations. At the same time, the new cameras represent a major step forward in terms of quality, producing high-resolution images.

"Sicherheitsbahnhof" project at Berlin’s Südkreuz train station

Starting in 2021, Deutsche Bahn will run the “Sicherheitsbahnhof” project at Berlin’s Südkreuz train station, testing different types of barriers to protect passengers on platforms and the use of smart technologies for video analysis to increase security. The project includes a longer term research. Another object of scrutiny will be how security can be increased without causing any inconvenience to passengers - for example to find out whether security measures impact the punctuality or capacity of trains.  

Rail safety and security awareness campaign at schools

In addition, during the first three months of 2021, Deutsche Bahn will launch an awareness-raising campaign for the prevention of rail accidents and for more civil courage, to raise passengers’ awareness of the need to use care in train stations and in particular on platforms. Also, more tactile paving will be installed on platforms in large railway stations to mark those areas more visibly that need to be kept clear. On top of that, in view of Germany’s efforts to switch to more sustainable modes of transport and of lessons learned from the tragic incidents of 2019, the federal states are requested to amend their school curricula on transport safety and security to include education on proper behaviour when travelling by train.