Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle trespassing on trainlines in the West Midlands.

In recognition of the challenges posed by trespass on the railway a Trespass Improvement Programme was initiated in January 2018, drawing together representatives from across the industry. It aims to find ways to tackle trespass in a long-lasting and sustainable way, but with a particular focus on trespass by young people. It intends to learn from other work in the rail sector around, for example, suicide prevention in working with parties outside rail. Specific strands of work include public awareness campaigns, the role of technology, sharing of good practice between different routes, and approaches to the use of physical barrier to address trespass.