Trespass incidents cause almost 10,000 minutes of delays

Trespass incidents caused almost 10,000 minutes of delays to South Western Railway (SWR) services for the 2025/26 period.

Data released by Network Rail and British Transport Police (BTP) shows that 9,437 minutes worth of delays were caused, equivalent to about six and a half days.

Across England, trespass, cable theft and obstruction caused more than 3,300 hours of delays during the same period, making it one of the railway's biggest causes of disruption, with a significant impact on customers.

The SWR network had the third-highest rate of vandalism and obstruction across Network Rail's 14 routes, including deliberately placed items such as debris and other pieces of track on the railway.

The rail firm said an additional risk on its network was the fact it uses a third rail as electricity supply.

It carries 750 volts of direct current, which can cause severe or lifechanging injuries, or death.

As part of a new campaign launched by SWR and Network Rail, drones, sensors and smart CCTV are being rolled out to make it easier to catch and prevent trespassers.

The use of drones is a new strategy, which has been trialled at London Waterloo station.

Further drone units have been planned for Clapham Junction, New Malden and Walton-on-Thames.

Tom Desmond, operations director for SWR, said: "Trespass is one of the leading causes of disruption on our network, delaying our customers' journeys and costing taxpayers.

"As part of our plan to deliver more reliable journeys, we're working with partners to reduce these types of incidents and improve our response so that we can keep services running."

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