Although people are the worst offenders for trespassing on Britain’s railways, Network Rail is fighting a continuous battle against trespassing by wildlife.

During the last year, there was an incident of people trespassing on the railway every half-an-hour whilst animals were recorded trespassing on the lines four times a day.

The most frequent trespassers were deer which tend to live in high numbers across rural, forested areas, with almost 350 incidents in the year to 31 March 2024.

In total, there were 1,432 incidents of trespassing, ranging from deer at one end of the scale to bees, a donkey, mice, hedgehogs and even a now, well-known tortoise.

These are far exceeded by people with over 19,300 incidents, equal to one every half-an-hour.

Closely following deer were sheep with 177 incidents. Birds with 172, cows with 156, and swans with 143 recorded incidents. Other wildlife found on the railway include dogs (135), cats (107), badgers (55), foxes (42) and pigs (38).

To help manage and minimise animal incursions onto the railway Network Rail has implemented a range of measures including trialling the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to detect deer on the railway.

In 2021 Network Rail installed deer leaps in Scotland to provide them with escape routes, and in 2023, a trial of a deer detection system using artificial intelligence took place at two key hotspots on the East Coast Main Line at sites susceptible to high volumes of deer entering the railway boundary.

Sound and vision sensors identify when a deer approaches the track and once it has, sets an alarm off that warns the deer away, with the AI cameras monitoring its movement until it has moved a safe distance away.

The system has proved successful, with just under 6,000 deer deterred from accessing the railway, and plans for it to be rolled out further in the near future.

Wildlife deterrent measures

Installing wildlife crossings.

In 2019, deer leaps were first trialled in Scotland that were designed to allow younger deer to get over the fences and reduce the number of potential incidents involving them if they became lost on the railway.

Partnering with animal charities who provide specialist training.

Experts at the Swan Sanctuary, provide special training where mobile operations managers (MOMs) are taught how to safely remove swans from the railway and release them into the wild. This can be challenging on those parts of the network powered by a third rail carrying 750 volts.

Annual inspections of fencing and working closely with farmers.

Network Rail works closely with local communities and farmers who live alongside the railway to ensure that land next to the railway boundary is suitably fenced and maintained annually, with further fence checks carried out if more livestock is moved onto the land.

Trespassing on the railway is a serious offence that causes delays to thousands of trains every year and can be very costly for people – causing death and life changing injuries due to the railways many hidden dangers. This summer, when we see trespass at its peak our message is clear whoever you are: child, adult, dog walker, holiday maker or beast – stay off the tracks.

Helen Hamlin, Network Rail’s operations chief