ElanRail brings its wildlife collision prevention system to European railways
Across Europe, growing populations of large mammals such as wild boar, red deer and roe deer are increasing the risk of wildlife collisions on railway networks.
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In France alone, wildlife collisions delayed or cancelled more than 5,000 trains in 2024, at an average cost of €100,000 per incident. Blue Sentinel shifts the response from reactive to proactive, from enduring collisions to preventing them. Already deployed across six regions in France, this collision prevention system deters
wildlife only when a train is approaching. The success of its rollout with SNCF Réseau and its proven industrial model make Blue Sentinel ready to be deployed across European railways, aiming to become the go-to solution for wildlife collision prevention.
Wildlife collisions: why passive solutions are no longer enough
Railway networks run through natural areas where wild boar, deer, and other wildlife roam freely.
When a collision occurs, the consequences extend far beyond the impact on wildlife: cascading delays, rolling stock damage and downtime, maintenance operations, passenger refunds and service disruption.
Historically, responses have relied mainly on passive measures such as installing fences and barriers to prevent animals from crossing the tracks. But these measures are costly, complicated to install, and pose a real threat to ecological connectivity.
Blue Sentinel helps keep train traffic running while allowing wildlife to roam free in their natural habitat.
How Blue Sentinel keeps trains running and wildlife safe
The main goal of Blue Sentinel is to prevent collisions by alerting wildlife that danger is approaching, at the right time and in the right place.
First, the detection beacon senses an approaching train.
Then alert beacons trigger audio and light signals to drive wildlife off the tracks. These solar-powered beacons can be installed in identified hotspots across several kilometres along the tracks.
Blue Sentinel easily adapts to the requirements of European railway networks. It can be configured remotely and includes a diverse sound library. The beacons can be deployed rapidly in a wide range of environments with no additional civil engineering required and no service disruption.
From France to Europe: a tried and tested model ready to scale
Blue Sentinel goes well beyond proof of concept, it is already operational at scale. Co-developed over two years with SNCF Réseau Pays de la Loire (the infrastructure manager for the national rail network), Blue Sentinel reduced wildlife collisions by 90% during its first pilot phase in 2024.
Now active at 10 sites across six regions, Blue Sentinel has already protected more than 200,000 train passages. It has been deployed across various landscapes and for different wildlife species.
This success is backed by the industrial track record of ElanCity, ElanRail's parent company. With 20 years of road safety expertise and over 60,000 products implemented in 50 countries, ElanCity provides ElanRail with the industrial foundation to scale rapidly across Europe.
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