Rail Trespasser Who Caused Major Disruption Jailed

Published on: 19 Feb, 2025
Updated on: 20 Feb, 2025

Ryan Seymour

A man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after trespassing on one of the country’s busiest railway lines and causing hundreds of South Western Railway (SWR) services to be delayed or cancelled.

On Monday 19 August 2024, Ryan Seymour, 41, trespassed onto the South West Main Line at New Malden in South West London. The line connects London Waterloo, one of Britain’s busiest stations, with the Portsmouth line, that runs through Guildford, as well as destinations in other parts of Surrey, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.

While being pursued by police he ran across four live tracks where, on an average, trains pass every two minutes and tried to hide in bushes by the tracks One train driver was forced to make an emergency stop at 75 miles per hour.

Fast train passing through New Malden Station

To keep Seymour and pursuing police officers safe, Network Rail turned off power to the 750-volt electric rails which powers trains. Four trains were stranded outside of stations as services in the area came to a halt, causing widespread disruption across most of the SWR network.

Dan O’Riordan, Head of Security and Safety Assurance for South Western Railway, said: “Trespassing anywhere on the railway is extremely dangerous. This individual was very fortunate to escape unharmed, with the risk of trains travelling through the area at nearly 100mph as well as the threat of the third rail, which carries enough voltage to kill – instantly. We hope that the sentence passed by the court serves as a warning to others.”

Power was restored at 4.30pm, however the knock-on impact of trains and crew being out of position meant services were severely delayed for the rest of the day. With so many cancellations and late running services, London Waterloo became overcrowded, forcing station colleagues to put safety mitigations in place.

To avoid further congestion in central London, all services on SWR’s suburban lines, from places including Guildford, Chessington and Hampton Court, were forced to end their journeys at Clapham Junction. Disruption then continued into the following day, with four early morning services cancelled.

In total, 921 train services were impacted, with 358 completely cancelled and parts of 81 other services cancelled. 13,178 minutes of delays were accumulated, the equivalent of nine days. These delays cost Network Rail, and the taxpayer, £1.2 million.

Whilst he was able to evade police on the day, a swift investigation led by the Metropolitan Police, assisted by partners from BTP and Network Rail led to Seymour’s identification, and arrest several days later.

Kingston Crown Court

At Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday 4 February 2025, Seymour pleaded guilty to:

Driving a motor vehicle dangerously
Intentionally / recklessly causing a public nuisance
Driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence – endorsable offence
Using a motor vehicle on a road / public place without third-party insurance

He was jailed for eight months for intentionally/recklessly causing a public nuisance through the act of trespassing onto the railway, and 10 months for dangerous driving, with the two sentences to run consecutively.

Tom Desmond, operations director for Network Rail, said: “This prosecution demonstrates that there are severe consequences for those who trespass on the railway. Ensuring the safety of everyone involved in these difficult events is our top priority, including the safety of those who respond to such incidents.

“Additionally, the impact on the railway network from these events and our ability to serve our customers cannot be underestimated with the associated widespread disruption and multiple stranded trains.

“This individual was very lucky to escape unharmed, with the risk of both trains travelling through the area at nearly 100mph as well as the threat of the third rail, which carries enough voltage to kill – instantly.”

For the period April 2023 to March 2024, Network Rail said there had been 2,682 incidents of trespass accounting for nearly 380 hours of delay to services the Wessex route.

Detective Sergeant Tim Deans, from the Metropolitan Police, said: “Seymour caused widespread disruption across south-west London and beyond. The Met’s investigation and the sentence handed to him demonstrates we will take action when people deliberately cause misery to others through criminal and anti-social behaviour.”