A trespasser in London caused major railway disruptions, cancelling nearly 1,000 trains and costing over a million pounds.
Ryan Seymour, age 41, trespassed last August onto the tracks at New Malden, near Kingston-upon-Thames. Trains pass very often there, carrying high voltage electricity that can kill instantly.
Police spotted Seymour on the tracks, and he ran from them across live tracks carrying 750 volts. A train passes every two minutes; one driver stopped quickly at 75 mph. Seymour hid in bushes near the tracks.
Network Rail cut the power for safety, trapping trains and passengers outside stations. The power cut caused widespread chaos. One Network Rail director called Seymour very lucky, saying he could have been hit by a train or risked death from the high voltage rail.
Seymour’s actions greatly impacted train services. Hundreds of trains got cancelled, and many more had parts cut from their routes. These delays added up to over nine days, costing taxpayers over a million pounds.
Seymour escaped initially, and the police restored power; however, train delays continued even into the next day. London Waterloo station became extremely crowded, and trains stopped at Clapham Junction instead. Delays spread everywhere, officials stated.
Seymour was caught days later after an investigation. He admitted to driving offenses and public nuisance. He got eight months for the railway trespass and ten months for dangerous driving, and these sentences will run back-to-back.
A police sergeant spoke about the disruption, saying Seymour caused problems everywhere. The police took action against his behavior; they don’t want anyone causing misery to others, and this sentence shows that.