In February 2023, after her son was the victim of a “horrific” attack on a train, Helensburgh mum Danielle Beazley founded a Facebook group called ‘Better transport for Helensburgh and 2508 Bulli High School students’, advocating for a dedicated school bus.

A year later, authorities are finally listening, but only after more children have to come to harm.

“Two students have been punched in the head – in March!” Danielle said. “It's just absolutely ridiculous at the moment and it really shouldn't be this hard to fix.

“There have been two kids that were hurt last month – 12 months after my child was hurt on the train and he wasn't the first one. There were children before him.

“There are kids now who are saying they don't want to go to school because they've seen stuff on the trains. Even if they're not directly affected, their mental health is being affected, it's affecting attendance.

“It's really escalated over the last few weeks and it's not just kids being kids or antisocial behaviour between students. These are often with members of the public and the kids cannot defend themselves against this and the school cannot protect them against this.”

After a community meeting at Tradies Helensburgh last night revealed the extent of the problem, Member for Heathcote, Maryanne Stuart, is calling for police on trains, CCTV cameras in carriages, education about emergency train procedures in schools and, ultimately, a bus service for students.

About 70 people attended the April 3 meeting, including parents, students, Transport for NSW representatives and Bulli High School principal Denise James.

More than a dozen people, including the mother of a child involved in a recent attack, shared their stories. The mood was “very emotional”, Maryanne said.

“There were tears. There was frustration, a lot of deep concern, probably anger – I’d go as far to say anger, yes.

“One woman spoke, she said her son was punched. I've heard that a Year 8 child was pushed down the stairs. It's also alleged that a knife has been presented … They're ongoing issues. Even the day before this meeting, apparently there was another incident on the train where young ones had been screamed at by an older person.

“Parents are saying, they need to go to work, they need to put their children on public transport, but they're really scared for the children.

“As their representative, it is my responsibility, the government's responsibility to keep every child safe travelling to and from school every day. So, I take this very, very seriously.”

In a phone interview today, Maryanne outlined the action she would like to see.

“I want to get police on the trains as soon as possible … in the interim between now and the bus service starting,” she said.

“I will move heaven and earth to make sure that we get the bus service.

“We know that when children are on a bus and confined like that it is easier to keep them safe.

“But in the meantime, I want a police presence on the train, and both ministers [Minister for Transport Jo Haylen and Minister for Police Yasmin Catley] are well aware of that.

“In other parts of the South Coast, they've had police on the trains, and it has ceased antisocial behaviour. So that's what I have asked for.”

Maryanne said the meeting had been a chance to hear directly from families. “So much more came out of the meeting than what I had thought.”

TfNSW’s response to date is a concern, she said. “One person [at the meeting] said this is the first time she's heard this, any of it – which I found quite alarming.

“Taking into account that senior management hadn't heard of these incidents before … quite frankly, I don't know how that could happen … I find it extremely disappointing. Safety is paramount. We all have a duty of care and for it not to be getting to senior management in Transport for New South Wales, so that they give directions for immediate procedures to be put in place to keep our children safe, I just find it deeply, deeply concerning.”

Maryanne said the meeting had heard that, after one incident, rail staff asked young passengers if they wanted to call the police and they said ‘no’. “The whole [meeting] room erupted … People were yelling out, why didn't you go ahead and ring their families? So then the question was asked about what is the process of Transport for New South Wales dealing with minors? And they said they don't have a policy.

“At the very least, everyone felt that police should always be called when there's a serious incident like the ones that have been described.”

Maryanne said the community meeting was essential for transparency. “We need people to be able to talk about the issues and what's concerning them … my approach is to have transparency, accountability, and community engagement at all times. It's not to do things behind closed doors.”

Members of the media were asked not to attend the meeting, which started at 4pm and ran for more than an hour. “Some of the parents wanted to talk freely about their children and they didn't want names to be used and things like that.”

While TfNSW staff suggested reporting incidents via their website, Maryanne acknowledged that mobile coverage black spots may make this impractical. "I would be calling the police or I would be calling [the Transport Infoline] 131 500,” she said.

After Wednesday's meeting, Danielle told the Flame she has been driving her son to school after a recent threat to his safety.

“It's 40 minutes each school side,” she said. “Obviously there's a significant financial cost to that. Fuel is very expensive at the moment as well.

“But I can't put him on the train knowing that there could be some mentally ill adult on the train who could hurt them.”

Danielle said it would take proper security on every school train before she would let her son catch a train again.

“But I really want there to be an alternative method of transport – the bus service would be a good start.

“It's not just about these big issues. The train trip is so long, they're so crowded. The services don't connect. The services don't meet the needs of the kids in Darkes Forest. They don't meet the needs of the kids up near Symbio. They're just completely left to fend themselves, walking along 80km/h roads with no footpath. So these issues are far bigger than just one thing.”

In a statement today, TfNSW thanked community members who attended the meeting, with a spokesperson saying safety on rail and bus services was “top priority”.

“We will look at ways to improve these services and are already acting, including investigating opportunities to improve bus services across regional NSW including the Illawarra region and partnering with NSW Police to increase patrols of Illawarra train services.”