The influence of railway lines on the life of wild animals

Abstract: Railway lines have an impact on the surrounding environment, both during the construction or modernization phase and during operation. Animal mortality due to collisions is an increasingly well-known impact, but usually the barrier effect that occurs as a result of line fencing is a much more serious threat. Collisions also have other aspects: train delays and damage, and a threat to traffic safety. Most often they occur in the morning and afternoon hours, and in the annual cycle during the mating season of a given species and after the separation of young animals from their mothers. Since the train does not resemble a predator, wild animals do not instinctively fear it and learn to ignore the movement of the trains. Keywords: Railway lines; Environmental impact; Wildlife