TRANSPORT bosses have pledged to get tough on crime after a number of people were assaulted on trams on the Oldham to Rochdale line over the space of a month.
In a report, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said there were nine assaults on the Metrolink route in July with five of them involving groups of youths attacking passengers.
The number of reported attacks that month was 29, the highest number for 16 months.
Head of Metrolink at TfGM, Daniel Vaughan, published a service performance report ahead of a Greater Manchester Transport Committee meeting.
The report states: “There were 29 reported assaults across the Metrolink network during July, the highest monthly total since 35 assaults were recorded at the start of pandemic in March 2020.
“There were nine assaults on the Oldham Rochdale line and five of these involved assaults by groups of youths on fellow passengers. As a consequence, the Oldham Rochdale line has been prioritised by the TravelSafe Partnership.”
Across the region in July, there were 19 reported anti-social behaviour incidents, 30 instances of damage to property and 27 obstruction/interference with network operations reports. There were also four sexual assaults and three weapons-related incidents reported.
The number of reported robberies year-on-year to July more than doubled to 13 while there was a 31 per cent drop in the number of harassment and intimidation reports (45) and a 75 per cent fall in the amount of drink and drugs related incidents (seven).
After the release of the report, Mr Vaughan said: “In Greater Manchester, through the TravelSafe Partnership, we work with police, transport operators and local councils to understand, address and tackle issues of crime and antisocial behaviour.
“We use various tactics to do this and, in the case of Metrolink, have our own team of TravelSafe Officers that dedicate 2,000 hours to patrolling our stops and services throughout the day and night, seven days a week.
“We work collaboratively to target our resources where they are needed most, and following a number of recent incidents have made the Rochdale via Oldham line an area of focus.
“For the safety of all our staff and customers, we have an extensive network of CCTV cameras on our trams and stops and people should be warned that if they do step outside the law their actions will be captured.”
In recent months there has been an “increase in criminal damage on the network”.
The report added: “This affected tram availability and the perception of security. The main contributing factor to this increase were the Euro 2020 screening events at Event City. In total 19 trams were severely damaged throughout the running of this event.
“There was also an increase in incidents of youths travelling on the outside of vehicles, which is subject to ongoing focus of the TravelSafe Partnership.”
The report added “operational performance during July was significantly affected by staff shortages, especially those in front line operational positions, due to track and trace isolation notifications”.
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