The Guardian: "Millions of trees at risk in secretive Network Rail felling programme"

[caradoc]

Trees are beautiful, wonderful things, and I love them, but they have no place alongside railway lines. During my railway career I dealt with trees on the overheads, trees bringing down the overheads, trees on the line, trees coming through windscreens and on one occasion into the side of a coach, not to mention the innumerable Autumn incidents of station overshoots, signals passed at danger, loss of traction, and wrong side track circuit failures, all due to leaves on the line (which the media think is a joke but most certainly is not). It is sad that trees have to be removed but this is an essential part of ensuring a safe and reliable railway.

[hayfield]

There will be nothing to look out at from the HS trains and nothing to see when attempting to look at the trains from the line side.

 

Just as well really, because it would be extremely dangerous for anyone to witness one of these trains passing by at such high speeds.

They are likely to die from convulsions on witnessing such a horrific natural act.

The trees are a Health and Safety measure.

 

 

 

.

 

 

This might be true on the Planet spud, but I have enjoyed viewing the French Countryside probably at higher speeds than those planned on HS2 from the inside of a coach, and been in a station (at a safe distance) when trains passed at full wack without harm

[Ron Ron Ron]

Whoooosh !!!!

[Pandora]

If there had been proper management of the permanent way the trees would have been removed years ago when they were only saplings.

 

...R

It is a delicate problem,  on one side the trees stabilise the lineside with their root structures and capacity to extract water from the soil, on the other side  a round-the-clock operation of railhead treatment  trains during leaf fall season to keep the service operationally safe

Edited April 30, 2018 by Pandora

[Reorte]

We could do with a lot more trees, not fewer. Just not right next to railway lines. I can't see this as anything more than trying to catch up with maintenance that should've been done long ago. Thought it looked mad when I saw the first photos of the reopened Borders route, with lots planted.

 

Would be nice if they could keep enough to completely hide the palisade fencing though.

[APOLLO]

Network Rail did a lot of tree pruning / felling last year on the West Coast main Line Wigan to Standish.

 

As I live within 100m of the line I got a letter beforehand inviting me to a meeting at a local church hall, which I attended (out of curiosity mainly). A well presented meeting, with lots of photos, plans etc. I believe there were a few objections, but the work was done - mainly at night / weekends.

 

The result was that not a great deal of significant tree loss was evident. Many large almost lineside trees had gone - they needed to go as the line is electrified - but most "barrier" trees behind them were just pruned where needed. There are still many, many trees along this bit of heavily used track.. 

 

Well done I say to Network Rail for the work done here.

 

Brit15

[Ron Ron Ron]

Meanwhile Network Rail have responded to the criticism.

Spokesperson Hazel Wood said that the tree management programme would be restricted to Branch lines and not on Trunk Roots.

She explained that tree felling was much less than in pre-Beeching days and that the tree problem had arisen due to budgets being Pruned over the last few decades.

 

Meanwhile the Forest of complaints is Growing.

Environmental protester Tarquin Birchall-Grove said that they should Leaves the trees alone and that felling them is a facist white privilege act.

"We Twigged something was going on, when the local paper was flooded with adverts for firewood".

 

Greenpeace campaigner, Holly Dogwood from Barking said "It's horrible to kill them. Remember Trees are people too".

 

The Rail Users group were equally scathing.

Spokesperson Ash Buckthorn said, "This needless programme will Sap funds from more important needs. The Lumbering bureaucracy of network Rail have been slow to respond to the Growth in the number of complains".

He urged anyone witnessing clandestine attempts to chop more trees down, to Log the details and call the Copse.

 

 

RMT leader Mick Stash has slated the tree felling programme as a direct, cynical and vicious attack on his members.

He's called for immediate re-nationalisation of the railways and the imposition of a one party socialist state.

 

ASLEF spokesman Dan Cashmore, offered support, "It's a matter of principle".

"My members will not back down on this issue, but will be open to talks on a 10% pay rise to offset the environmental damage that is being done".

 

 

 

 

.

[Zomboid]

We could do with a lot more trees, not fewer. Just not right next to railway lines. I can't see this as anything more than trying to catch up with maintenance that should've been done long ago. Thought it looked mad when I saw the first photos of the reopened Borders route, with lots planted.

 

Would be nice if they could keep enough to completely hide the palisade fencing though.

I imagine the trees planted in the borders route would be evergreen. The benefits of that would be that they themselves don't drop leaves, and they'll also help prevent any deciduous trees from growing.

Obviously from time to time one will fall over and block the line, but if it prevents leaf problems and reduces the effort needed to maintain the situation then they're a good solution overall.

[hayfield]

Just shows which ever route you choose there is a cost implication

[Wickham Green]

We could do with a lot more trees, not fewer. Just not right next to railway lines. I can't see this as anything more than trying to catch up with maintenance that should've been done long ago. Thought it looked mad when I saw the first photos of the reopened Borders route, with lots planted.

 

Would be nice if they could keep enough to completely hide the palisade fencing though.

Twenty years time and those won't be trees - they'll be ''BIOMASS'' and there'll be trains an' trains of lovely environmentally friendly ( self-driving ) diesel lorries carting it off to the nearest a power station so it can be turned back into carbon dioxide ............

[dibber25]

In the meantime they poison the foodstuffs (specifically soft drinks) with Aspartame, and nobody bats an eyelid.

 

Aspartame is, in essence, excrement from the e-coli bug which in itself is basically excrement.

And the FSA approve this stuff.

 

Really? Network Rail ? 

[Talltim]

RMT leader Mick Stash has slated the tree felling programme as a direct, cynical and vicious attack on his members.

He's called for immediate re-nationalisation of the railways and the imposition of a one party socialist state.

 

ASLEF spokesman Dan Cashmore, offered support, "It's a matter of principle".

"My members will not back down on this issue, but will be open to talks on a 10% pay rise to offset the environmental damage that is being done".

Unfortunately these two paragraphs could be appended to the end of pretty much any article about rail, with a few word changes Edited April 30, 2018 by Talltim

[jonny777]

In the meantime they poison the foodstuffs (specifically soft drinks) with Aspartame, and nobody bats an eyelid.

 

Aspartame is, in essence, excrement from the e-coli bug which in itself is basically excrement.

And the FSA approve this stuff.

 

 

Maybe people are not worried because have read the NHS web page on Aspartame - 

 

https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/the-truth-about-aspartame.aspx

[Reorte]

For the complaints about tree felling which aren't about a barrier perhaps buying up a few fields and planting trees on them would be a good token gesture (probably better for wildlife too than having it running and flying around near fast-moving heavy lumps of metal).

[PaulRhB]

I think you'll find the property board has the reverse policy and sells off anything not required for railway use

Commercial reality of the modern world, you can sponsor and assist wildlife groups but if the land is on the assets register it's going to be looked at as a revenue source.

Edited April 30, 2018 by PaulRhB

[Robin2]

Twenty years time and those won't be trees - they'll be ''BIOMASS'' and there'll be trains an' trains of lovely environmentally friendly ( self-driving ) diesel lorries carting it off to the nearest a power station so it can be turned back into carbon dioxide ............

And everyone will be traveling everywhere in "trains" of driverless-cars so that HS2 will have become redundant. Bit like the decision to build Evening Star

 

...R

[kevinlms]

You are very correct, back in steam days the embankments were kept in check by fires started by passing locomotives, living close to the west coast main line was a regular occurrence and the highlight of the day especially when the fire brigade arrived.

 

Lets face it when the railways were built the trees were felled, both trees and shrubs on embankments are self sown and therefore weeds, albeit nice looking ones. But the embankments were never designed for trees and bushes

 

Its not only the Railways doing it but also the National Grid, they regulary prune large shrubs and trees under the power lines, and at my golf club paid it so they could clear (not prune) all trees and shrubs under the wire

About 25 years ago, I went on a rail tour that hadn't had a regular passenger service for years. At one station, they'd been 'pruning' cypress trees recently.

 

The preferred method was clearly one of, tying a chain around branches & pulling with a winch. The branches hadn't been cut, but ripped out of the trunks! One side of each tree (facing the railway, obviously) had been so treated.

[Max Legroom]

Whenever I see 'then and now' pairs of photos I'm always amazed just how many trees there are today compared to the early and mid twentieth century. Not just along railway lines either.

[whart57]

A lot of wood went to shore up the trenches in WW1, it took half a century for that deforestation to be reversed

[Dunsignalling]

About 25 years ago, I went on a rail tour that hadn't had a regular passenger service for years. At one station, they'd been 'pruning' cypress trees recently.

 

The preferred method was clearly one of, tying a chain around branches & pulling with a winch. The branches hadn't been cut, but ripped out of the trunks! One side of each tree (facing the railway, obviously) had been so treated.

Sounds more like they've been flailed which also uses chains but mounted on a kind of giant strimmer in place of the plastic line. 

 

John

[jjb1970]

One of my proud boasts is that I did my bit to save the trees when I worked in electricity generation by burning 1500 dry tonnes (it was actually double that as the wood was 50% moisture) of trees a day at a biomass plant. What some people don't understand is it was essential to kill and cut down all them trees to save them.

[Barry Ten]

The scale of tree cutting that's gone on along our stretch of line over the last week is quite a step up from anything I've seen in ten years of living in the valleys, so I think there is something in this story. It's also my local running route, so I'm well aware of the likely impact on wildlife. Some of the trees that I've seen reduced to stumps must be a good 50 foot from the line itself, if not more. This really is key nesting time for many bird species so you'd be hard pressed to think of a worse time to do it.

[jjb1970]

Meanwhile Network Rail have responded to the criticism.

Spokesperson Hazel Wood said that the tree management programme would be restricted to Branch lines and not on Trunk Roots.

She explained that tree felling was much less than in pre-Beeching days and that the tree problem had arisen due to budgets being Pruned over the last few decades.

 

Meanwhile the Forest of complaints is Growing.

Environmental protester Tarquin Birchall-Grove said that they should Leaves the trees alone and that felling them is a facist white privilege act.

"We Twigged something was going on, when the local paper was flooded with adverts for firewood".

 

Greenpeace campaigner, Holly Dogwood from Barking said "It's horrible to kill them. Remember Trees are people too".

 

The Rail Users group were equally scathing.

Spokesperson Ash Buckthorn said, "This needless programme will Sap funds from more important needs. The Lumbering bureaucracy of network Rail have been slow to respond to the Growth in the number of complains".

He urged anyone witnessing clandestine attempts to chop more trees down, to Log the details and call the Copse.

 

 

RMT leader Mick Stash has slated the tree felling programme as a direct, cynical and vicious attack on his members.

He's called for immediate re-nationalisation of the railways and the imposition of a one party socialist state.

 

ASLEF spokesman Dan Cashmore, offered support, "It's a matter of principle".

"My members will not back down on this issue, but will be open to talks on a 10% pay rise to offset the environmental damage that is being done".

 

 

 

 

.

This gets my vote for the best post I've read on RMWeb!!!!

[Mike Storey]

You are very correct, back in steam days the embankments were kept in check by fires started by passing locomotives, living close to the west coast main line was a regular occurrence and the highlight of the day especially when the fire brigade arrived.

 

Lets face it when the railways were built the trees were felled, both trees and shrubs on embankments are self sown and therefore weeds, albeit nice looking ones. But the embankments were never designed for trees and bushes

 

Its not only the Railways doing it but also the National Grid, they regulary prune large shrubs and trees under the power lines, and at my golf club paid it so they could clear (not prune) all trees and shrubs under the wire

 

Many modern embankments (both railway and road) are designed to have trees/bushes, where the roots will stabilise the formation and improve drainage, but I agree the original articles were not. The selection of species is key. But self-seeders become the problem.

[Mike Storey]

And everyone will be traveling everywhere in "trains" of driverless-cars so that HS2 will have become redundant. Bit like the decision to build Evening Star

 

...R

 

Absolutely. Just like the prediction in the 1980's/90's that no-one would be travelling now because of video-conferencing and social media. Bit like the decision to scrap two thirds of the railway system. Good call!

Edited April 30, 2018 by Mike Storey