RAIL passenger and staff safety is at risk after years of cuts that have hollowed out British Transport Police (BTP) numbers, unions warned today.

In a joint letter, RMT, TUC, Aslef, TSSA and Unite, say budget cuts have pushed BTP officer numbers to “the limits of safe headcount reduction,” with over 500 posts due to disappear by the end of 2025/26.

Alarming figures presented to the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) show there was a 35 per cent increase in violence against rail staff last year, meanwhile BTP presence has fallen by nearly a third since 2009/10.

BTP’s own data shows that there had been a 14 per cent rise in violent offences across the network and a 9 per cent rise in anti-social behaviour requiring immediate or priority response.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Cuts to railway policing have gone too far and are putting staff and passengers at an increasing risk of violence.

“The BTP is being left understaffed, overstretched and unable to sustain the policing presence our railways urgently need.

“We need to be serious about a safer railway, and that requires a proper multi-year funding settlement.”

The union suggested that about 1,000 additional officers are needed to restore historic norms, but that the BTP is facing a £8.5m shortfall in 2025/26 after receiving just a 4.6 per cent uplift.

Unions are calling on the BTPA to approve an appropriate three-year settlement, warning that proposals indicate cuts that would further force staff reductions.

The British Transport Police Authority was contacted for comment.