Railway staff are being trained on how to safely remove swans that sneak onto the tracks, which can cause significant delays to services and put staff at risk.

Network Rail has announced that it has partnered with The Swan Sanctuary, a charity dedicated to the care and treatment of swans across the UK, to work out how to safely remove the invading birds from the tracks and release them back into the wild.

According to Network Rail, there were at least 143 incidents involving swans between 2023 and 2024, with these elegant birds infesting railway tracks across the country.

This puts swans in around sixth place in the list of the ten most frequent railway intruders. However, they can hardly keep up with those who take the top spot with around 19,300 railway intruders during this period: humans.

The Swan Sanctuary provides training to some of Network Rail’s mobile operations managers who help monitor the railways, teaching them how to safely remove the birds from the tracks.

As part of the training, managers will receive special practical training in handling swans, including learning how to correctly and safely restrain the swans and move them away from the tracks, Network Rail said.

However, this is not without challenges as the railway line is under 750 volts in some places, making the removal of the birds a delicate task.

Tom Desmond, operations manager at Network Rail, said that while deer represented the largest group of railway invaders in the animal kingdom, swans were actually “the most serious animal invaders disrupting passenger services”.

“Our partnership with the Swan Sanctuary provides our frontline teams with invaluable skills and training to meet the challenge of removing our feathered friends from the railway quickly and safely,” he added.

Network Rail has found that humans are by far the worst offenders of track trespassing, with one incident every half an hour. Deer are second with 349 incidents a year.

Deer are found in large numbers in rural woodland areas, often near railway lines.

Their population has increased significantly in recent decades. Today, there are an estimated two million deer living across the country – the highest number in 1,000 years, according to the Ministry of Environment, Food and Agriculture.

While operations managers are busy catching swans, Network Rail and London North Eastern Railway are testing the use of artificial intelligence to deter deer from even approaching the tracks.

The system has so far prevented almost 6,000 deer from entering the railway line – potentially saving the animals’ lives and avoiding delays for train passengers.

The automated system uses sound and image sensors to detect when a deer is approaching and sets off an alarm to warn the deer. Fences along the railway lines have also been checked to ensure that animals are kept away from the tracks.

Animal welfare groups welcome Network Rail’s commitment to protecting animals from the dangerous voltage and high-speed trains that cross the network.

The British Deer Society said The Independent that they feel “very encouraged” by Network Rail’s AI system used to deter deer from entering active railway lines.

“Unfortunately, deer and other wildlife are often unable to detect such man-made threats, so any measures that can be taken to deter and protect them are very welcome,” they said.

After deer, sheep are the second most common offenders with 177 incidents, followed by birds in general in fourth place with 172 incidents and cows in fifth place with 156 incidents.

Dogs, cats, badgers and foxes complete Network Rail’s list of ‘worst trespassers’ across the country

There have also been a few isolated cases where various animals have entered the tracks without permission, including bees, mice, hedgehogs and even a llama and a turtle.

“Trespassing is a serious offence that causes delays to thousands of trains every year and can be very costly for people – it can lead to deaths and life-changing injuries due to the many hidden dangers of the rail network,” said Helen Hamlin, Network Rail’s operations manager.

She added: “This summer, when trespassing rates are at their peak, our message is clear: whoever you are, child, adult, dog owner, holidaymaker or animal – stay off the tracks.”

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