Trespass incidents caused more than 18 days of delays over the past year
Anti-trespass measures will be installed at Cambridgeshire railway stations by Greater Anglia. The railway company said figures from the past year showed that trespass incidents caused more than 18 days of delays.
The new measures include more fences, gates, and witches’ hats (rubber spikes on the ground which deter people from accessing the track). They will be installed to keep people away from the railway after figures showed trespass incidents delayed trains by more than 440 hours over the course of a year, as well as causing 251 cancellations.
The measures will also be installed at stations in other counties. The stations set to see the measures are Attleborough, Brandon, Cromer, Diss, Eccles Road, Gunton, Harling Road, Lakenheath, Manea, March, Roughton Road, Shippea Hill, Spooner Row, St Margarets, Thetford, West Runton, Whittlesea, and Wymondham.
Matt Wakefield, Greater Anglia’s Safety, Security & Sustainability Director, said: “Safety is our top priority on the railway. These measures are designed to help keep people off the tracks and in a safe place.
“The railway is not a playground, and people should never go on the tracks without permission. Anyone who does so is putting their life and the lives of others at risk. Anyone who sees someone on the tracks should alert a member of rail staff immediately or dial 999 in an emergency.”
Greater Anglia also works with the charity Samaritans, which shows them how to recognise someone who may be vulnerable, how to approach them, and start a conversation. Samaritans are available all day, every day on 116 123.