'It changed all of us': Victim speaks out after new appeal into unprovoked train attack

A victim of an unprovoked train attack allegedly involving about 30 teenagers says she is hesitant to board a train again after being dragged from a carriage and left bloodied by a smashed wine bottle. 

Olivia Reid, 24, said she is frustrated it has taken months for the case to be assigned to a detective and for police to release CCTV images of people of interest to the inquiry. 

Images were released on Sunday of several young women in Halloween costumes, along with a fresh appeal for information by police. 

Police have defended the speed of their investigations, saying they had worked to progress the case as quickly as possible while also managing the demands of other inquiries in the area. 

Reid, who was with a small group of friends in their early 20s, was heading home from a Halloween party in Auckland in October last year when the attack took place in a train carriage and at Morningside Station. 

She told the Herald it was the first time she had been on a train. 

Reid said she was disappointed the investigation had taken this long and at one point assumed the case had been “binned” by police. 

“I was quite surprised when things started happening. It’s good to know that things are happening now, but it would have been nice if it had been prioritised a little bit more.” 

From Reid’s understanding, CCTV from the platform and carriage was available within a couple of weeks. 

“The situation was that if they don’t class it as a serious enough crime, which they’ve now told us they should have classed it as more serious, it’s basically just on a waitlist.” 

Reid said it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago, after the case was assigned to a detective, that progress was made “really quickly”. 

Olivia Reid says she was dragged off the train and suffered a deep cut on her hand from a wine bottle. 

“The detective told us that once she got assigned to the case and she watched the CCTV footage, she was surprised that it didn’t get more fast-tracked,” Reid said. 

Reid said she and her friends knew the police had evidence, such as CCTV, but it was never explained to them why the investigation was taking so long. 

“We know that there is evidence out there, so why are you not doing anything with it?” she felt at the time. 

Reid praised the work of the victim support team and other officers, but said the “screwed” system had led to delays. 

Police are asking for the public’s assistance to help identify a number of young women in relation to a serious assault. 

Police pursuing new leads 

Police said four young people were allegedly attacked on and around a train carriage and platform at Morningside Station in the late-night incident. 

Some of the victims earlier told the Herald they were dragged by their hair and viciously beaten. 

When asked why it had taken so long to release images of the people of interest, Detective Senior Sergeant Anthony Darvill said police had worked as quickly as possible while also juggling other investigations. 

“Public appeals are not always the first step in any investigation, and decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis should these be required,” Darvill said. 

Police had received a positive response to the most recent appeal and were working through new information. 

“Through our inquiries, we have identified two young people prior to the appeal being issued, and they are being referred through the Youth Aid process.” 

Four people were allegedly attacked on and around a train carriage and platform at Morningside Station in the late-night incident. 

‘It is something that changed all of us’ 

Earlier this year, the victims of the alleged attack said they were left fearful of using public transport and some suffered long-lasting effects from concussions. 

One of the victims, Harriet, said she was badly bruised and still attending a concussion clinic nearly two months after the incident. 

She was also forced to reduce her work hours because of the ongoing impacts, which included severe headaches and collapsing. 

Reid said she still had no feeling in her pinky finger and a “pretty gnarly scar” after suffering a deep cut from a smashed wine bottle. 

Olivia Reid, who was with a small group of friends in their early 20s, was heading home from a Halloween party last year when the alleged attack took place. 

After the incident, she had become more wary of her surroundings and was less likely to give people the benefit of the doubt. 

“I think just knowing there are people out there who just want to fight, like they just want to do it and will do it unprovoked. 

“I think it is something that changed all of us.” 

Auckland Transport data revealed hundreds of people had reported violent incidents on its services between November 2023 and November 2025. 

On bus and ferry services alone, there were 256 records of abuse, 209 of assault and 286 of injury.