Animal-train collisions are increasingly serious challenge for modern railways

The problem of wildlife collisions with trains appeared with the invention of the railway. This phenomenon increases with the development of new technologies and ongoing modernization of railway lines, leading to an increase in both speed and train traffic volume. Changes in the construction of rail vehicles and the introduction of new, lightweight rolling stock, sensitive to mechanical shocks, increase costs in the case when it comes to a collision. In the article we present sample data on the scale of the phenomenon. One of the major carriers in Poland –Przewozy Regionalne Ltd. (Regional Railways) – in one year registered 268 cases of animal-train collisions. In turn, the PKP Intercity SA in year 2015 as a result of such collisions incurred repair costs amounting to half a million PLN, while Koleje Wielkopolskie Ltd. (Wielkopolska Railways) in the same year incurred costs associated with collisions of nearly 300,000 PLN. The data obtained from the carriers show, therefore, that in Poland there happen at least a few hundred collisions with large animals per year, and the associated repair costs are slightly counting hundreds of thousands of PLN. Through an analysis of places of collisions it is possible to determine the “black spots”, where it is advisable to introduce preventive measures.