Railway workers in the Netherlands are planning to halt train traffic for three minutes on Saturday evening to protest a rise in violence against staff on trains.
"We are reaching the limits of what we can do. We need help from the government. It can't go on like this," said the director of Dutch Railways (NS), Wouter Koolmees, in Utrecht on Monday.
"My colleagues work every day to get over a million travellers to their destination. It's madness what they have to deal with every day. Society is hardening," said Koolmees.
The protest action was triggered by an attack by a group of young people on train staff at the weekend.
In the incident on Saturday, a train attendant was pushed, punched and knocked down the stairs of a double-decker train. When the train stopped, the young people also hit the train driver.
According to Dutch Railways, their staff were attacked 1,042 times last year, an increase of 8% compared to the previous year. The figure includes threats, spitting attacks and physical violence.
To improve safety onboard trains and that of staff, NS has launched a trial phase and begun equipping train attendants and service personnel with body cameras.
The railway has also introduced entry checks at all stations and looking to hire additional security personnel.