Overgrown bushes

[whole diary]

[LiskeardRich]

I've noticed in recent weeks travelling round the SouthWest, in particular Devon and Cornwall there is an issue with trees and bushes being overgrown and resulting in trains scraping through them along the main line.
This is something I've never noticed before, have network rail cut back on doing their gardening?

On some of the units which had windows open, there was a fair amount of bush coming inside the train via the open windows.

We've also had an issue with a HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) being damaged yesterday hitting a tree - could this have been prevented if the trees and hedgerows had been pruned back?

[Electric train]

Unless the vegetation is a danger or obstructing signal sighting NR^» (Network Rail - home page) cannot cut the veg down until the bird nesting season is over, also people complain when NR cuts "trees" down not to mention budgets are tight,

[LiskeardRich]

Thanks, that makes sense. Not something I would of considered.
In places there is quite a hefty thud as the train scrapes along branches of trees etc.

[chuffed]

Seems like a Hobsons choice of 'Angry birds or 'Angry passengers'!

[chrisr_75]

Unless the vegetation is a danger or obstructing signal sighting NR^» (Network Rail - home page) cannot cut the veg down until the bird nesting season is over, also people complain when NR cuts "trees" down not to mention budgets are tight,

Just to add, they'll also (or at least used to be when I did this very same work some years ago) be removed if obstructing users sight lines at level crossings, especially user operated or footpath crossings. Certain species will be targeted as a priority to reduce the impact of the leaf fall season (e.g. sycamore) and of course any dangerous trees will/should be removed, hopefully before they drop any bits onto the railway!

I doubt anyone is particularly worried about a few leaves or light branches scraping along a train if none of the above criteria are met.

[IndustryInsider]

I doubt anyone is particularly worried about a few leaves or light branches scraping along a train if none of the above criteria are met.

Agreed, though it's getting noticeably worse each year.  The worst time is just after there's been a heavy shower and the leaves are weighed down with water.  I'd be very careful before you stick your head out of a MK3 window these days...   

[SandTEngineer]

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/community-relations/trees-and-plants/

Effective management of trees and plants
We target areas that pose the biggest safety and performance risk to the railway. This includes the area between the track, which is kept completely clear, and in high risk areas we may need to clear to the boundary line although in general we only clear to five metres from the track.

Over the coming months, our people will be removing potentially dangerous lineside vegetation, prioritising areas that pose a significant safety or performance risk. This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis but will see at least a clear five metre wide corridor created to either side of the track, and possibly wider areas in places where trains commonly accelerate and brake.

[eightf48544]

A lot on the way from Weymouth to Bristol some of the worst on the mainline from Castle Cary to Westbury

[Chris from Nailsea]

The worst time is just after there's been a heavy shower and the leaves are weighed down with water.

That's possibly the nearest they get to carriage washing these days ...