Network Rail fined for Japanese knotweed

[whole diary]

[infoman]

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/man-gets-10000-payout-after-27653642

[Mark A]

It's a 'mare, and South Wales is more than a hotspot for japanese knotweed. Swansea, there's a huge outbreak of it, untreated, east of Cockett tunnel (which spreads well off railway land too):

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6330416,-3.9648555,3a,60y,137.52h,83.62t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGa_1iTvzV-FLpqqM6caX1A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

From a couple of trips up the Central Wales line last year, I'm wondering if it's able to spread when fragments stick to trains and later fall by the lineside - there's lineside outbreaks of it almost as far as Llandeilo. At Shrewsbury Station, there's an outbreak above the retaining wall on the Castle side of the station - I reported that to the local authority who responded that they weren't minded to do anything about that one, which was disappointing as it will now eat Network Rail's retaining wall.

And then there's buddleia, for which Network Rail will not be fined, but on the other hand it's set to eat every masonry and brick structure they have.

Mark

[Marlburian]

...  I'm wondering if it's able to spread when fragments stick to trains and later fall by the lineside - there's lineside outbreaks of it almost as far as Llandeilo.

Ragwort spread rapidly from Oxford via the railway network. Learned article.

I wonder if that explains the presence of ragwort in Sulham Meadows (actually on the outskirts of Pangbourne) where volunteers clear it each year.