Buses, trams, trains and metros halted for three minutes in protest after assault

Trains, metros, trams, city buses and regional transport throughout the Netherlands paused and stood still for three minutes at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday as part of a protest in support of public transport workers who regularly face violence. Station shops also closed their door in the demonstration against aggressive and violent behavior.

The immediate reason for the protest was the assault on a NS conductor last Saturday, who was jumped by a group of young people on a train running between Delft and The Hague. A train driver was also struck. For the NS, the country's national railway, it was time to send a signal that this cannot continue.

A spokesperson for Dutch national railway NS said that "as I can see now" all trains in the Netherlands stood still for three minutes and that the protest call was a success. "Passengers I have spoken with have a lot of understanding for the protest. We see that as support."

After years of warnings about passengers violently attacking workers, concerns which date back well before the coronavirus pandemic, labor unions and other public transport carriers joined the NS protest. The leader of the largest railroad labor union, VVMC, was present at the station in Groningen. There, a group of about 15 employees, many of whom were off-duty and in uniform, gathered and addressed passengers.

"People listened attentively and showed a lot of empathy," said the union leader, Wim Eilert. "They were also astonished about what happened to NS personnel and expressed their horror about it."

The campaign was "absolutely successful," as far as Eilert is concerned. "Even though it is symbolic and does not gloss over the violence, more needs to be done, for example in the form of support and protection for staff."

During the protest, all NS passengers heard a broadcast in which employees talked about the aggression against railway employees. The message was played both in trains that were standing still at stations, and those that slowed to a stop.

As far as they are concerned, this violence must come to an end. "Be a little kind to each other, and to us," the message concluded.