Network Rail reveals animals most likely to wander on line causing delays

But by far the biggest culprits trespassing on the line and causing long delays are humans, who outnumber the four-legged offenders by a huge margin.

The revelation comes as Network Rail unveils a wanted poster of culprits that trespass on the lines, alongside figures and statistics.

In the 12 months leading up to March 31 there were a total of 8,303 incidents of trespass, of which only 125 incidents involved animals. The rail company says that for every minute of delay caused by an animal across the Southern region, a human caused over 10 and a half minutes’ worth of disruption to trains.

Of the 125 animal-related trespass incidents in the Southern region, badgers got onto the tracks the most, with 36 instances occurring, followed by swans in second place (22) with dogs and foxes tied for third on 18.

Nationally animals trespassed 1,432 times in the 12 months, ranging from deer, hedgehogs and even a tortoise. But by far the worst offender are people with over 19,300 incidents – one every half-an-hour.

Network Rail has a range of measures in place to help it manage and minimise animal incursions onto the railway across its Southern region. and even has as a partnership with the Swan Sanctuary, a charity in Shepperton, Surrey to provide front line railway workers with training on how to quickly and safely remove swans from the tracks and release them back into the wild, helping prevent lengthy delays to passengers.

Network Rail works closely with local communities and farmers who live alongside the railway to ensure that suitable fencing is installed and maintained along the railway boundary on an annual basis - further fence checks are also carried out if farmers bring more livestock to their land.

Tom Desmond, Network Rail’s Wessex route operations director, said: “The railway tracks are for trains, not people and animals. Trains, when travelling 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 and our partnership with the Swan Sanctuary provides our front-line teams with invaluable skills and training to tackle the challenge of quickly and safely removing our feathered friends from the railway.

Helen Hamlin, Network Rail’s operations chief, said: “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."

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