£110,000 cash boost to tackle crime on East Coast Main Line

The company said the measures on the East Coast Main Line, connecting Scotland with London via York, will be implemented through more security patrols on the route.

It comes after Network Rail revealed that crimes involving trespassing on the tracks caused nearly five months of delays to passengers last year.

The organisation is working with British Transport Police (BTP), using drones, sensors and smart CCTV technology, to identify trespassers faster and more consistently.

A new campaign, Crime With Consequences, will reinforce collaboration between the rail industry and police, and improve the collection of evidence to strengthen prosecutions against offenders.

It will also increase the focus on victim impact statements to help show the consequences of delays caused by railway crime.

Figures released by Network Rail showed trespass-related crime caused more than 3,300 hours, or nearly five months, of delays to rail passengers in 2025/26.

The crimes caused more than £10 million in delay costs for the rail sector.

These costs correspond to the amount of money Network Rail provides to train operators to compensate for delays related to its tracks.

The figures showed cable theft alone caused more than 2,100 hours of delays and delay costs doubled to £6.8 million in 2025/26.

Thefts can damage signalling mechanisms and overhead wires, resulting in potentially lengthy delays for both passengers and freight services.

Network Rail said trespass was one of the railway’s biggest causes of disruption and could have a significant impact on train performance, passengers, freight, railway staff and communities.

BTP Superintendent Darren Malpas said railway crime “put lives at risk”, adding that anyone trespassing or trying to steal cable “risks serious injury or death”.

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Separate figures showed 1,072 vandalism, obstruction and cable theft incidents were recorded in 2025/26, down slightly from 1,197 the previous year.

The North and East route, which runs across Yorkshire, the North East and the Pennines, topped the list with 150 incidents logged last year.

It was followed by the North West route with 123 incidents and the Wessex line with 102 incidents.

Network Rail has introduced measures to tackle trespass-related crime, including the use of hidden trespass beads in its cables in the North West to track down offenders.

Anit Chandarana, director for system operator at Network Rail, said: “Behind every one of these delays caused by railway crime is someone not being able to get home to their family, another person late to a job interview, or food stuck on its way to a supermarket shelf.

“Cable theft, vandalism and obstruction aren’t victimless crimes, they’re crimes against the millions of people who rely on the rail network every day.”