South Western Railway (SWR) has welcomed the sentencing of a man to 18 months in prison for trespassing on one of the country’s busiest railway lines and causing hundreds of services to be delayed or cancelled.

Ryan Seymour, 41, trespassed onto the South West Main Line at New Malden in South West London on Monday 19 August 2024.

New Malden is one of Britain’s busiest stations on the line from London Waterloo to Dorset, Hampshire and the West Country.

Pursued by police, Seymour ran across four live tracks where a train passes on average every two minutes and hid in bushes.

During the pursuit, a train travelling at 75mph was forced to make an emergency stop.

Network Rail turned off the power to the electric rails, causing widespread disruption to most of South Western Railway’s services, including stranding four trains outside of stations.

Although power was restored at 4.30 pm, the knock-on effect from trains and crew being out of position severely delayed services for the rest of the day, causing London Waterloo to become overcrowded, and requiring the imposition of safety mitigation plans.

All South Western Railway suburban services were terminated at Clapham Junction.

Although Seymour was not arrested at the time, a swift investigation by the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police and Network Rail led to his identification and arrest several days later. On Tuesday, 4th February Seymour pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to:

• Driving a motor vehicle dangerously
• Intentionally / recklessly causing a public nuisance
• Driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence – endorsable offence
• Using a motor vehicle on a road / public place without third-party insurance

Seymour was jailed for eight months for intentionally/recklessly causing a public nuisance through the act of trespassing onto the railway, and ten months for dangerous driving, with the two sentences to run consecutively.

Detective Sergeant Tim Deans from the Metropolitan Police commented that the Metropolitan Police will take action when people deliberately cause misery to others through criminal and anti-social behaviour.

Trespassing is a persistent problem in many areas, and Network Rail is increasingly making use of CCTV to catch offenders. Just last month, a trespass incident in North London cost Network Rail over £500,000 in delay minutes when a man entered Hendon station and climbed onto the railway line.

“This prosecution demonstrates that there are severe consequences for those who trespass on the railway. Ensuring the safety of everyone involved in these difficult events is our top priority, including the safety of those who respond to such incidents. Additionally, the impact on the railway network from these events and our ability to serve our customers cannot be underestimated with the associated widespread disruption and multiple stranded trains. This individual was very lucky to escape unharmed, with the risk of both trains travelling through the area at nearly 100mph as well as the threat of the third rail, which carries enough voltage to kill instantly.”

Tom Desmond, Operations Director for Network Rail