Noise deterrents to keep wild boars away from railway tracks
As a growing number of wild boars are hit by trains throughout France, SNCF Réseau has installed noise-emitting beacons along the tracks in the Normandy forest. This measure has drastically reduced collisions on the section of track concerned.
Wild boars: a challenge for traffic safety
Roaming wild boars are the animals most frequently hit by trains, accounting for 43% of collisions recorded by SNCF Réseau.
1,400 wild boars were hit by trains in 2025, a 27% increase in comparison with 2024. These collisions cause material damage and delays and represent a significant financial cost.
To tackle this challenge, SNCF Réseau has been rolling out various strategies depending on the region, including sound signals designed to scare away wild boars in Normandy.
How it works
Every 50 meters along the Rouen-Caen railway line, “Safe” beacons created by Nantes-based company ElanRail, are placed near areas where wild animals are most likely to roam.
Using radar, the first beacon calculates the speed of the approaching train and sends this information to another solar-powered beacon, which emits a forest sound via a loudspeaker. The alarm is thus relayed to the next beacon along the track, broadcasting the signal to the surrounding area, and so on.
This system has drastically reduced collisions on the section of track concerned.
1,404
collisions with wild boars in 2025
60%
increase over 3 years
20
trains per day delayed or canceled due to collisions with wild boars
A rapidly growing animal species
Nearly 900,000 wild boars were killed during the 2024-2025 hunting season, according to the National Hunting Federation and the French Office for Biodiversity. This figure, which has doubled in 20 years, is testament to the increasing number of these ungulates in France, estimated at between 1.5 and 2 million. The proliferation of wild boars, which now roam outside of forest areas, is a growing problem due to the extensive damage they cause.
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Can a wild boar stop a train? (0:59)
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