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Network Rail is urging people to stay off the tracks and not put themselves and others at risk new safety figures reveal that there were more than 19,300 trespass incidents (2,685 on the Kent routes) on the rail network in the 2023/24 financial year – that’s one every half an hour.   

• Network Rail is reminding parents and children to remain vigilant around the railway as incidents of level crossing misuse rise during the summer break
• Never-seen-before CCTV footage shows reckless behaviour and near misses with trains
• 258 incidents of misuse and 33 near misses recorded at level crossings across Network Rail’s Kent route over the last year as hotspot locations are revealed
• Network Rail has set up a dedicated safety centre set up in Margate - believed to be the only one of its kind in the country

People travelling to and from the Isle of Sheppey are asked to plan ahead from Friday (28 June) when the first eight-day closure of Kingsferry Bridge, linking Sheppey to the mainland, takes place.

The first of four closures will begin on Friday 7 June

No trains will run between Blackheath and Charlton from 1 June for 10 weeks so that Network Rail engineers can carry out essential repairs

From Saturday 4 to Monday 6 May customers are asked to check before travelling as planned upgrades and routine maintenance to the railway take place across Kent, Sussex and south east London.

Network Rail’s planned repairs to Kingsferry Bridge this summer have been rescheduled to avoid a clash with school exams taking place in mid-June and a bike ride involving thousands of cyclists that is set to cross the bridge on Saturday 22 June.

Two weeks today there will be a number of planned upgrades and routine maintenance to the railway and any customers intending to travel by train over the Early May Bank Holiday weekend are urged to plan ahead.