Trespassing on railway lines in South Wales is more dangerous now than ever, warned Transport for Wales and the British Transport Police.
The risk death or serious injury for those who continue to trespass on the rail network has increased significantly with the introduction of ‘live’ Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) for the South Wales Metro carrying 25,000 volts – the equivalent of 100 times standard household electricity.
Contact with OLE is fatal nine times out of 10, with the heat generated from a shock of 25,000 reaching temperatures of more than 3,000 degrees Celsius, or three times that used in a crematorium chamber.
In 2022 there were more than 1,000 recorded incidents of trespass on the Core Valleys Lines alone, which could have been fatal if the OLE was energised.
Lois Park, Head of Community and Stakeholder Engagement at TfW, said, “The first section of electrified OLE is another significant milestone for the South Wales Metro project, but it brings significant risks for those who choose to trespass on the network.
“The OLE system has been designed to keep people safe and as long as everyone respects the railway boundary and does not trespass onto the railway, they will be as safe. But for those who may have gotten away with trespassing on the lines in the past, the risk of serious injury and death is now significantly higher.
“Within the next two years the whole of the Core Valleys Lines will be electrified to allow TfW to run our brand-new trains, so we are committed to working with communities to make everyone aware of the danger.”