Rail staff are being given special training on how to remove pesky swans from the tracks.
Network Rail has partnered with the Swan Sanctuary so that its workers can learn how to get the birds out of harm’s way quickly and safely.
Swans can become aggressive when approached, and, combined with much of the railways across Wessex being powered by electrified third rail, removing this protected species can be challenging.
Tom Desmond, Network Rail’s Wessex route operations director, said: “The railway tracks are for trains, not people and animals.
“Trains, when traveling at full speed, need the length of several football pitches to stop and, unlike cars, can’t swerve out of the way of obstacles.
“There are also invisible dangers such as the electrified third rail. Everybody loses when a person risks their lives on the railway.
“Our first priority is to ensure everyone gets home safe, every day, be it humans or animals.
Swans are the most impactful animal trespassers for disrupting passenger services [on our route] and our partnership with the Swan Sanctuary provides our frontline teams with invaluable skills and training to tackle the challenge of quickly and safely removing our feathered friends from the railway.”
New figures released Tuesday reveal that animals trespassed 1,432 times in the 12 months to 31 March 2024.
Deer ranked in first place across the UK – causing almost 350 incidents out of a total 1,432.
Sheep weren’t too far behind – with 177 incidents – while birds affected 172 train schedules, putting them in third place.
Cows were in fourth – with 156 trespasses, and swans came fifth – with 143 flying onto tracks.
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
