Tree-cutting helps trains the run on time and is vital for safety | Letters

Tree-cutting helps trains the run on time and is vital for safety | Letters
Network Rail’s Kevin Groves defends the company’s practice, but other readers deplore the loss of ‘green corridors’

Your article on tree-felling by the railway (‘Mile after mile of stumps’: anger at trackside tree cull, 30 April) gives a misleading impression. With 20,000 miles of track and many millions of trees growing on the lineside, managing vegetation on the railway is a full-time job and one of our most important safety issues.

In the last year, vegetation management and incidents caused by vegetation cost the railway £100m. Storm, rain and wind events resulted in 1,500 incidents where trees caused disruption to the network. Last year around 1,000 trains collided with fallen trees or large branches – a record number – with many more instances of trees and branches blocking and closing lines. Such incidents can cause travel chaos for passengers and have the potential to cause an accident.

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Source: Guardian Transport

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