Keeping Britain’s railways safe isn’t just about fences and warnings, it’s about understanding why people take risks in the first place.
In 2024 alone, there were more than 19,000 trespassing incidents and 19 accidental fatalities – the highest in five years. The figures spoke for themselves. Network Rail knew in order to protect lives, something had to change.
Looking beyond the tracks
Tackling trespassing meant going beyond traditional research, uncovering the hidden motivations behind risky behaviour and the real human stories driving them.
That’s where we came in. We set out to understand trespassing through a new behavioural lens, blending data, psychology and culture to get to the heart of what makes people take dangerous decisions when it comes to railways.
Client testimonial
Far too often, we witness the heartbreaking outcomes of individuals taking risks around the railway. I am delighted that this research has provided us with a deeper understanding of who is most likely to engage in such behaviour, enabling us to develop more effective interventions across the industry to prevent risky actions. We are already leveraging the audience insights from Yonder’s research to inform our trespass prevention efforts, ensuring that our interventions, messaging, and campaigns are consistent throughout the rail industry.
Louise McNally
Trespass and suicide prevention lead at Network Rail
Understanding dangerous decisions
Unsafe behaviour on or near railways isn’t simple. A quick shortcut across the tracks. A spontaneous dare. A fleeting misjudgement, with devastating consequences.
These incidents are infrequent, but with a profound impact. Many people don’t realise their behaviour is unsafe or even illegal, with social stigma, denial and fear often masking the real motivations.
To uncover these hidden drivers, we had to think differently. Traditional research wouldn’t cut it. So we built a bespoke, multi-stage methodology capable of bringing these motivations to light: the psychological, social and emotional triggers behind unsafe behaviour.
Client testimonial
I am thoroughly impressed with Yonder’s behavioural insights research, which successfully identified who is most likely to behave unsafely on the railway and why. Obtaining data to understand these audiences has been a significant challenge for the industry, yet it’s crucial for developing effective campaigns to support trespass prevention.
Yonder went beyond understanding the audiences we aimed to reach and immersed themselves in our organisation and frontline staff who deal with trespass incidents.
The depth of their research and the clarity of their findings have provided invaluable insights – essential not only for our communications campaigns but for the entire rail industry.
LUCY JONES
SENIOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Behind the journey
Our multi-stage, mixed-method approach using the COM-B model combined both quantitative and qualitative insight.
We began with social listening, analysing how railway safety is spoken about culturally, specifically around the language and tone. Expert interviews then revealed the root causes of risk-taking, both within and outside the railway context.
A quantitative sizing exercise mapped the prevalence of these behaviours, while in-depth non-judgemental interviews spotlighted the emotional truth by creating a safe space for participants to share their motivations, especially when they didn’t see themselves as trespassers.
Finally, we tested messages and interventions through a quantitative impact stage, identifying which approaches most effectively discouraged unsafe behaviour across key audience groups.
Framing our findings through the COM-B model gave Network Rail a clear framework for action, rooted in evidence and behavioural science to plan for maximum impact.
Client testimonial
Railway trespass has long been a critical issue for our industry. It not only results in tragic deaths and injuries but also has extensive repercussions for rail passengers and taxpayers, causing significant delays and costing millions of pounds. This research has been instrumental in helping us identify who is most likely to engage in unsafe behaviour and has helped to uncover new audiences, allowing us to better target our communications.
We now have a much clearer understanding of what drives individuals to take risks on the railway, with many simply unaware of the dangers when stepping onto the tracks. The insights gained have been transformative for our communications strategy and are already making a substantial impact on how the industry collaborates to prevent trespass.
EMMA KNIGHT
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS & ENGAGEMENT
The safety shift
Beyond this project, our insights have underpinned a new cross-industry safety strategy, uniting Network Rail and Train Operating Companies behind a shared, evidence-based approach. By focusing on why unsafe actions happen rather than what they are, the industry now replaces assumptions with understanding.
Network Rail have also already implemented a series of impactful changes for the disabled community using insights from this research, including an educational film for staff on appropriate language, demonstrating the power of directly engaging with voices that are often underrepresented.
The result of our project? These initiatives, including the Stay Off the Tracks campaign, are more than just safety messages, they’re part of a behavioural transformation, empowering Network Rail to make Britain’s railways safer and more inclusive for everyone.
Sector
INFRASTRUCTURE (UTILITIES & TRANSPORT)
Geography
UK
What we did
Audience understanding
Political & social insight
Business strategy