Sexual assaults of women and children on trains among incidents reported to Irish Rail

A woman being “followed” into a toilet before being sexually assaulted was among alleged incidents of sexual assault and harassment reported to Irish Rail over the past decade.

Some 179 incidents of “lewd behaviour”, sexual assault and harassment were reported to Irish Rail by passengers and staff since 2015, most of which occurred since 2020.

The majority of the incidents involved men allegedly sexually assaulting or harassing women, “masturbating on carriages”, “touching themselves” inappropriately or exposing their genitals to others on board trains.

Some incidents concerned alleged sexual assaults of children and teenagers.

In one case, gardaí boarded a train as it arrived at Carlow from Dublin in 2022 after the alleged sexual assault of a child.

In a separate incident late last year, a teenage girl was allegedly sexually assaulted on a train as it was about to depart Waterford for Limerick Junction. Gardaí responded to the incident and the girl was taken to hospital.

Several reports of passengers taking “inappropriate pictures” or videos of others, including children, were also made.

One man was reported for allegedly masturbating on board a 6.38am train from Maynooth to Connolly Station in Dublin. The incident was not captured by CCTV, however, as the train was “full”, according to a log of incidents.

A woman separately described a man “looking at her a lot” before she noticed he was “engaging in a lewd act”.

Another man was arrested at Connolly Station in 2021 after he had been allegedly “masturbating in front of minors”.

The data, which was originally obtained by RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime under the Freedom of Information Act and subsequently released to The Irish Times by Irish Rail, shows the highest number of incidents was reported in 2020 (43), followed by 2025 (30).

Another woman alleged that a man had followed her into the toilets of a train travelling from Dublin to Cork in 2024 and sexually assaulted her. Gardaí were called and attended, though the woman had left the station.

Most incidents reported and logged were categorised as lewd behaviour, though Irish Rail said 30 of those involved public urination.

Most of those incidents involved men urinating on platforms at various stations across Dublin, though one passenger reported a man had “exposed himself” and urinated in the carriage of a train. He was subsequently arrested.

A spokesman for Irish Rail said incidents of sexual harassment and assault on its services are “extremely rare, particularly when considered in the context of 410 million journeys during the 2016 to 2025 period”.

“Incidents which have occurred illustrate the serious societal issue of sexual harassment and assault, which unfortunately our customers have experienced in the incidents detailed,” he said.

The spokesman added the records released demonstrate the “seriousness with which such incidents are treated” by Irish Rail staff and security teams, noting that gardaí assisted in “many incidents”.

“Our staff assist the gardaí wherever possible to support investigations such as with the gathering and provision of relevant CCTV footage,” he said.

Responding to the incidents, the Department of Transport said it was “actively progressing the necessary steps to deliver on the commitment to establish a Transport Security Force”.

Noting this was a “key commitment” in the programme for government and a “priority” for Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien, a spokesman said “considerable progress” has been made in recent months.

A proposed model is currently under “detailed consideration”, he said.

“The introduction of this force will require the development of primary legislation, which can have a significant lead time, but it will be expedited, with a view to making progress on its foundations during 2026.”

[ New public-transport security force to have powers of arrestOpens in new window ]