Swan handling skills aim to prevent train delays

Swans are regularly trespassing on the railways

Rail workers are being trained on how to safely remove swans from the tracks after Network Rail found they were among the most prolific trespassing animals.

Now it has teamed up with The Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton to provide training in a bid to prevent train delays.

Swans can become aggressive when approached and with much of the railway electrified, removing this protected species can be challenging.

There were 1,432 trespasses last year by animals including deer, cats, dogs, badgers, a donkey, a tortoise, hedgehogs and bees.

Animals 'cause delays'

The figures from Network Rail that cover the past 12 months to 31 March also show there were 125 animal-related trespass incidents reported across its southern region.

Badgers got on to the tracks the most, with 36 incidents, followed by swans in second place with 22 and dogs and foxes tied for third on 18.

The southern area covers Dorset, Hampshire, East and West Sussex, Surrey, Kent and south London as well as the high speed route which carries channel tunnel services.

Across its Wessex route - which covers routes from London Waterloo to Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire - swans were responsible for the largest number of delays to passengers.

Tom Desmond from Network Rail said: "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."

By far the biggest group trespassing on the railways are humans, with more than 8,000 incidents in the southern region last year.

For every minute of delay caused by an animal, a human caused over 10 and a half minutes' worth of disruption to trains, Network Rail said.