Shaw S Hunter
Established Member
I have completed the survey and emphasised the need to maintain safety and reliability of train operations as the first priority. I hope that other forum members will do likewise.
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Clearing lineside vegetation
- Thread starter uww11x
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Amen!
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
That's exactly what I have just done.
squizzler
Established Member
Survey done.
People fail to appreciate the railways are probably the only technically complex, safety critical infrastructure to allow unchecked vegetation to impinge so closely on its operations. How many members of the Woodland Trust would be happy flying into an airport with deep forestry pressing up right to the edge of the runway?
People fail to appreciate the railways are probably the only technically complex, safety critical infrastructure to allow unchecked vegetation to impinge so closely on its operations. How many members of the Woodland Trust would be happy flying into an airport with deep forestry pressing up right to the edge of the runway?
Joseph_Locke
Established Member
Both barrels given.. If they use my "quote" I'll be stunned!
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Yes I have also given both barrels and I will also be amazed if they use my quote.
thejuggler
Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2016
- Messages
- 1,186
When they start treating knotweed effectively I'll be interested. Fact is they don't go near it.
From https://twitter.com/FlywheelMedia1/status/1038861185830068224 it seems that the survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/T5ZSSL9 is from the Woodland Trust, rather than Network Rail.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Woodland MISTrust
Shaw S Hunter
Established Member
I'm sure my disparaging comments about "tree-huggers" will go down well then!
Envoy
Established Member
- Joined
- 29 Aug 2014
- Messages
- 2,478
I was recently on a 166 going down from Yeovil to Weymouth. Bushes were scraping the side of the train.
YorkshireBear
Established Member
- Joined
- 23 Jul 2010
- Messages
- 8,692
Not sure how to respond to this as an employee of a relevant party!
What a load of drivel this is though. It is clearly written from their point of view with not even an attempt to understand the safety and performance issues.
What a load of drivel this is though. It is clearly written from their point of view with not even an attempt to understand the safety and performance issues.
Ash Bridge
Established Member
Yes...exactly this, I don't think it's worth responding to, and if as bspahh posted above that it is actually created by the Treehuggers Trust then they'll surely not take on the rather more sensible views from the railway point of view on this matter.
This Woodland Trust tweet https://twitter.com/WoodlandTrust/status/1038721186505601024 says
So it might well be a Network Rail survey after all.
theironroad
Established Member
Survey completed
nlogax
Established Member
From a railway reliability perspective I'm curious as to which needs more active management; trees on embankment or lineside Buddleia / Hogweed / Knotweed?
jyte
Member
Completed, and left a few hundred accurate (and true!) pro-NR words as comment and a particular juicy quote. Considering the effin woodland trust is managing this, I doubt they'll use it!
Completed. I might point out, (as I did in the survey) that I am a paying member of The Woodland Trust but think the priorities of the railway should not deviate from safety (passengers/staff/public) protecting the assets (to keep the 'green' transport mode viable before getting to aesthetics and a biodiversity priority. I stated that that order should foremost in NR's approach to maintaining the green margins.
agree 100%. I got a strong feeling from the questions that I was being cajoled into hugging trees. There are place for trees: on a live railway is not one.
GrimShady
Established Member
- Joined
- 13 Dec 2016
- Messages
- 1,740
WHL between Cairnlarich and Craigendoran suffers particularly bad from lineside vegetation spoiling some wonderful views..
theironroad
Established Member
I agree, especially after leaving arrochar going north, spoiling what could be stunning views of loch Lomond.
On a plus point, some work was done between arrochar and garelochhead a couple of years ago to help with the sea loch views.
In the years before NR realised that it was better to proactively clear the vegetation, rather than wait until it blocked the line, the Friends of the WHL were the conduit for money from the National Park to clear sections. There's a section on the hill down to Dalmally which has opened up because the commercial planting has been harvested.
Dr_Paul
Established Member
- Joined
- 3 Sep 2013
- Messages
- 1,359
And if one suffers from migraines, as I do, one will know all too well that the strobe effect of sunlight through scrubby trees is a surefire way of triggering them.
https://twitter.com/KevinGroves3/status/1043496999981666310 has a scary video of a train on the East Coast mainline hitting a tree, leaving the overhead wires flailing around.
I thought this article was particular interesting - first sight of the 'non woodland' issues I have seen in the maintstream media.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...ways-says-trackside-trees-should-chopped/amp/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...ways-says-trackside-trees-should-chopped/amp/
The Telegraph said:
nlogax
Established Member
Whoah. That was an alarming thing to watch. God knows how the driver felt before and afterwards. It somewhat answers my question upthread.
This issue was raised in parliament again today.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commo...448-4E58-AA9D-8C483C7461C6/BusinessOfTheHouse
The relevant exchange:-
Sir John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) (Con)
I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on reaching the halfway mark in your career as our Speaker.
That we plant trees for those born later seems lost on the denizens of Network Rail who continue, despite a very good independent report, to destroy trees and shrubs trackside on an industrial scale, including in places such as Grantham in Lincolnshire. This is certainly unethical and much of it, given the effect on protected wildlife, illegal. Will the Leader of the House arrange for an urgent statement by Ministers to say how this decimation and destruction can be brought to an end before all that is bright and beautiful is made dark and ugly by the brutal bureaucrats of Network Rail?
The edit just sent has not been saved. The following error was returned:
This content has already been edited and is awaiting review.
Mel Stride
I thank my right hon. Friend very much indeed for his eloquently placed question regarding trees and Network Rail. As we know, he is a lover of poetry, particularly the poetry of John Clare, who wrote a poem called “The Wind and Trees”. I know my right hon. Friend has a long-term love of trees and a long-term problem with wind, by which I mean, of course, his verbosity in this Chamber on occasion. May I share one small section of that poem with the House?
“I love the song of tree and wind
How beautiful they sing
The licken on the beach tree rind
E’en beats the flowers of spring.
From the southwest sugh sugh it comes
Then whizes round in pleasant hums”.
On that rather beautiful note, I think I should concede entirely to my right hon. Friend’s request and ensure that I secure a meeting with him and the Environment Secretary as soon as possible.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commo...448-4E58-AA9D-8C483C7461C6/BusinessOfTheHouse
The relevant exchange:-
Sir John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) (Con)
I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on reaching the halfway mark in your career as our Speaker.
That we plant trees for those born later seems lost on the denizens of Network Rail who continue, despite a very good independent report, to destroy trees and shrubs trackside on an industrial scale, including in places such as Grantham in Lincolnshire. This is certainly unethical and much of it, given the effect on protected wildlife, illegal. Will the Leader of the House arrange for an urgent statement by Ministers to say how this decimation and destruction can be brought to an end before all that is bright and beautiful is made dark and ugly by the brutal bureaucrats of Network Rail?
The edit just sent has not been saved. The following error was returned:
This content has already been edited and is awaiting review.
Mel Stride
I thank my right hon. Friend very much indeed for his eloquently placed question regarding trees and Network Rail. As we know, he is a lover of poetry, particularly the poetry of John Clare, who wrote a poem called “The Wind and Trees”. I know my right hon. Friend has a long-term love of trees and a long-term problem with wind, by which I mean, of course, his verbosity in this Chamber on occasion. May I share one small section of that poem with the House?
“I love the song of tree and wind
How beautiful they sing
The licken on the beach tree rind
E’en beats the flowers of spring.
From the southwest sugh sugh it comes
Then whizes round in pleasant hums”.
On that rather beautiful note, I think I should concede entirely to my right hon. Friend’s request and ensure that I secure a meeting with him and the Environment Secretary as soon as possible.
- Status