Sandra Rudolf, a 44-year-old train conductor in Baden-Württemberg's regional rail service, shares her experiences with workplace violence following the death of a colleague from a passenger attack in Rheinland-Pfalz. Despite multiple severe incidents, including being pushed from a train, she continues her job with mixed feelings and calls for enhanced safety measures.
Sandra Rudolf has worked as a train conductor in Baden-Württemberg's regional rail service for nine years. Following the tragic death of a conductor in Rheinland-Pfalz from a passenger attack, she returned to work with mixed feelings. "With mixed feelings, I myself have experienced several attacks," she says.
Two years ago, during a ticket check, Rudolf suffered a pelvic bruise and concussion after a ticketless passenger pushed her from the train. Six years earlier, she was shoved again while explaining to a passenger with a bus ticket that it was invalid for the train. "Then I only remember an announcement for the next stop; after that, I remember nothing. I lay between the train and the platform edge," she recounts.
In daily life, she endures insults and spitting. "The everyday things are insults that sometimes go way below the belt. I've been spat on too," Rudolf describes. The fear lingers in the back of her mind, but she doesn't let it show: "It's in the back of my mind, but you can't board with those thoughts." With aggressive passengers, she engages in conversation and calls the police if needed.
Unions criticize that staff are often alone on trains. "We've been saying for a long time that we should be in pairs on the trains; that provides more safety," Rudolf emphasizes. Equipment includes a Prio-Ruf emergency device and pepper spray after training, but she is ambivalent: "If I use it, it spreads through the air conditioning in the carriage." Bodycams might deter potential offenders, but not aggressive ones. Trained security personnel are rarely on board.
Assaults can happen anytime, regardless of shift. The perpetrators in her cases have been reported, but court proceedings are pending. Rudolf notes increasing coarseness: "In the past, there was respect for uniform wearers." Nevertheless, she enjoys her job: "Every day is an adventure."
