Groups of young people have been causing a lot of nuisance on the train between Roosendaal and Vlissingen for months. In the words of the police, the young people create an unsafe and grim atmosphere on the train. The nuisance is mainly caused on the last trains on Friday and Saturday nights. “Unacceptable”, the police and the NS call the behavior of the young people.
The disturbances consist of mutual fights at stations and on trains, harassing young women, vandalizing train furniture and causing a nuisance by shouting and banging on the train walls.
Employees of the Dutch Railways (NS), including conductors, have serious concerns about the safety of travelers and their own staff.
Due to the nuisance and the criminal offenses being committed, the police have been conducting extra surveillance since mid-December. For example, trains have been stopped on occasion and a police dog also travels on the train to provide direct supervision.
Young people and their immediate environment are also addressed about their behavior in order to stop violence. In addition, NS and the police are in discussions with various municipalities to see how safety on the train and around stations can be improved.
Especially young people from Zeeland
According to the police, the young people appear to mainly come from Zeeland. This concerns places such as Kruiningen/Yerseke, Kapelle-Biezelinge, Goes, Arnemuiden and Middelburg. The image is that they get off at those stations after boarding the train in Bergen op Zoom.
This weekend the train journey between Roosendaal and Vlissingen was unexpectedly quiet, the police reported on Sunday. One person was turned away at Roosendaal station.
In the coming weekends, the police and NS will continue to jointly monitor the last night journeys on Friday and Saturday nights, with the aim of ensuring the safety of train passengers.