| Re: Castle Cary problems 17 October Posted by TaplowGreen at 11:55, 17th October 2026 |     |
On the upside, venison as an option on the Pullman will make a nice change?
| Re: Castle Cary problems 17 October Posted by stuving at 11:39, 17th October 2026 | |
Coincidentally, there was a report on French TV news yesterday about the delays and damage caused by wild animals being hit by trains. Of course SNCF does have a lot of railway that's not fenced, plus a lot of wild boar - big, heavy, solid things. There were some numbers for collisions with boar and deer, which I can't remember exactly, but something like eight per day for France.
So they have been trying out fancy new beast scarers, which detect the animal and make a suitable noise at it, chosen to make it move away. The company involved, ElanRail, claim that their "Blue Sentinel" has reduced collisions by 90% year on year in the trial.
SNCF have also been fencing some lines; that may help with other kinds of trespasser of course.
| Re: Castle Cary problems 17 October Posted by grahame at 11:14, 17th October 2026 | |
"Deer" is shown as 350 (numerically) although without a time period for that number it's hard to judge. Those makes with "*" are my guessed break down with gave an overall number of "others" and listed types under it in what looked like quantity order. And, yes, I know swans are birds, but I think they separated them out.
At the risk of talking to myself, I have looked back for my data source and found various. Seems that sheep are more of a problem in Wales, and people over the whole of GB:
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/deer-oh-deer-network-rail-unveils-the-countrys-worst-trespassing-criminals-embargoed-20-august-2024-0600
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/revealed-animals-who-top-the-lists-of-trespassers-on-the-track-on-wales-and-western-region
New figures released by Network Rail reveal that animals trespassed 246 times in the Wales & Western region in the 12 months to March 2024, ranging from sheep at one end of the scale to cats, foxes and even a solitary badger.
But by far the worst offenders are people with more than 5,500 incidents in the same period – one every 95 minutes.
When it comes to animals, would ewe believe it – sheep lead the way with 65 incidents during the year.
Deer, who tend to live in high numbers across rural, forested areas, which are commonly found alongside the railway, came in second place with 46 incidents.
Next in line were dogs (36) and swans (33), with cows (31) moo-ving into fifth spot.
Other incidents involved birds (10), pigs (7), cats (6), horses (5), foxes (4), with one incident each caused by a goat, dormouse and badger.
But by far the worst offenders are people with more than 5,500 incidents in the same period – one every 95 minutes.
When it comes to animals, would ewe believe it – sheep lead the way with 65 incidents during the year.
Deer, who tend to live in high numbers across rural, forested areas, which are commonly found alongside the railway, came in second place with 46 incidents.
Next in line were dogs (36) and swans (33), with cows (31) moo-ving into fifth spot.
Other incidents involved birds (10), pigs (7), cats (6), horses (5), foxes (4), with one incident each caused by a goat, dormouse and badger.
And Network Rail have even provided a graphic in case anyone doesn't know what a sheep, a swan or a badger is - though I would query their description as a "crime" which - to me - indicates a conscious intent to break the law.
| Re: Castle Cary problems 17 October Posted by grahame at 10:51, 17th October 2026 | |
What has happened?
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A train struck a deer near Castle Cary and the line from Taunton to Westbury, Reading and London Paddington is blocked.
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A train struck a deer near Castle Cary and the line from Taunton to Westbury, Reading and London Paddington is blocked.
Sadly, the most common animals hit by trains. On something unrelated to this incident, I found some stats Network Rail has published a couple of years ago
"Deer" is shown as 350 (numerically) although without a time period for that number it's hard to judge. Those makes with "*" are my guessed break down with gave an overall number of "others" and listed types under it in what looked like quantity order. And, yes, I know swans are birds, but I think they separated them out.
| Castle Cary problems 17 October Posted by TaplowGreen at 10:14, 17th October 2026 | |
Oh deer............
Cancellations to services at Castle Cary
Due to animals on the railway earlier today at Castle Cary the line towards Westbury is blocked.
Train services running through this station may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 12:00 17/10.
Customer Advice
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What has happened?
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A train struck a deer near Castle Cary and the line from Taunton to Westbury, Reading and London Paddington is blocked.
