After a train conductor from Dutch railway company NS was violently assaulted, three major cities have decided to suspend all public transport for a moment of protest on Saturday night.
The municipalities of The Hague, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam are following the example of the NS, which announced that it was stopping all train service on Saturday night in protest against rising violence towards its workers.
As de Volkskrant writes, trains, buses, trams, and metros in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague will stop for three minutes at 10:30 PM. The ferry across Amsterdam’s IJ will also temporarily not sail.
The time of the protest coincides with the time the NS worker was violently attacked.
A worrying trend
Saturday’s incident, during which a female conductor was beaten, kicked, and pushed down the stairs by a group of minors, sadly isn’t a rare occurrence.
Last year alone, the NS reported 1,042 incidents of aggression or violence on its trains, 331 of which involved physical brutality.
Municipal public transport operators are noticing a similar trend. In Amsterdam, there have already been 14% more incidents of aggression, insult, or harassment towards staff or fellow travellers this year, as the GVB told de Volkskrant.
What happened on Saturday night?
Last Saturday at around 10:30 PM, an NS conductor was severely abused by a group of teenage boys.
The woman was working her shift on a double-decker train between Delft and The Hague Hollands Spoor. She was allegedly beaten, kicked, and pushed down the stairs of the train. As a consequence, she suffered a broken arm.
According to the NOS, the train driver was also attacked after the train had come to a stop.
One of the boys linked to the incident was arrested by the police on Sunday night.
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