Preventing livestock incursions on the railway
Network Rail constantly strives to make Scotland’s Railway as safe as possible, not only for passengers but also for people and livestock living lineside.
Boundary fencing plays a crucial role in controlling livestock incursion risks and we are keen to work with farmers across Scotland to ensure fencing faults are quickly detected and dealt with.
Farmers know their field and boundary conditions intimately, so are often the first to spot any issues and we encourage them to flag their concerns to us as soon as possible.
Network Rail currently manages around 3,862km of livestock and strained wire fencing across Scotland and these are inspected on average every 12, 24 or even 36 months depending on site-specific factors.
A five-kilometre fencing renewal in the West Highlands between Craggan and Arrochar is a recent example of where we have worked with neighbouring landowners in a hard-to-reach location using a helicopter to air-drop more than 20 tons of fencing material.
The challenging topography of the land either side of the railway - including a near vertical embankment - meant that a helicopter was identified as the safest and most efficient way to deliver materials to site to allow contractors QTS to start work.
The helicopter carried out 21 lifts to move material to site from a staging point south of the work area, on the West Highland Line.
Following the airlift of materials to site, work on the fencing renewal is being carried out over a period of three months and, weather permitting, is scheduled to be complete by the end of January 2023.
The work is needed to reduce the number of incidents of livestock gaining access to the line and to protect the safety and security of both the railway and lineside neighbours. Standard wooden post and wire stock fencing is currently being installed along the section.
To report any damaged fencing, inadequate fencing or a livestock incursion, please call the 24-hour Network Rail national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.
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