Helicopter joins blitz on railway vandals

Tube and mainline rail chiefs today launched a major offensive against vandal attacks during the Easter holidays.

The situation is so bad on the District line, the busiest on the Tube network, that a police helicopter with special cameras will help catch the culprits.

It will be backed by fast response teams on motorcycles. Rail chiefs say crime soars during the holidays.

The Tube blitz will concentrate on the east end of the District line between Barking and Upminster.

Missile attacks on trains along this stretch have been so bad that union chiefs say they will stop services unless something is done.

Earlier this month, a mainline train driver was seriously injured when a brick was thrown through his windscreen. The British Transport Police will lead the clampdown, codenaamed Operation Rhino. It will be a partnership between LU, the BTP and the Metropolitan Police Air Support unit.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in