44 arrested during police clampdown on trains and stations across Wales

More than 400 people were ejected from railway stations across Wales over the Christmas period as part of an operation to target crime and anti-social behaviour

Forty-four arrests were also made as part of the joint operation between British Transport Police (BTP) and Transport for Wales and ten of those were for drunk and disorderly offences.

The clampdown, named Operation Genesis, focused mainly on Fridays and Saturdays over the Christmas period and saw an increase in high-visibility patrols on trains and at stations.

BTP said reasons for being refused travel included being too intoxicated, refusing to wear a face covering, and behaving anti-socially.

The weekend before Christmas was the busiest period in terms of the number of criminal offenses and Cardiff Central station recorded the highest number of arrests during the operation with 22 over the 48-hour period.

BTP also made more than 5,000 interventions and ejected nearly 200 people for refusing to wear a face covering during the operation which ran from 1 December to 1 January.

Safety

BTP Police Constable Tomos Van Praet told the Police Professional website: “The safety of passengers and rail staff is our main priority, which is why we teamed up with Transport for Wales to ensure everyone could enjoy the festive period safely.

“Rail is one of the safest ways to travel – but, we see how alcohol can really affect people’s judgment and after a few drinks people often take greater risks, which can lead to very serious consequences. To prevent any serious incidents, we asked people who were too intoxicated to sober up before coming back to travel.

“We will continue to work closely with our rail industry partners to keep passengers safe in the new year.”

Leyton Powell, Transport for Wales’ safety and sustainability director, added: “We’ll be continuing to work collaboratively with BTP in 2022 in order to ensure passengers continue to travel safely, particularly in light of the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

“We’re working with BTP to remind passengers that wearing a face covering while on public transport remains the law in England and Wales, unless exempt, and a face covering must also be worn whilst in enclosed stations.”