Posted 14th February 2011 | 12 Comments
Network Rail ‘surprised’ by call for litter orders
NETWORK Rail is facing a string of Litter Abatement Orders following an initiative to clean up railway property by the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
The CPRE is encouraging its members to take action, led by the author and broadcaster Bill Bryson.
Mr Bryson, who was born and brought up in the American state of Iowa, has written one major book and many shorter articles about Britain, where he lived for more than twenty years. At one time he worked for a local newspaper in Dorset and later for The Times.
He has often expressed great affection for the British Isles, and now leads the CPRE as its president.
But he is critical of the railway’s record in keeping its property litter-free, saying: “This is not a complicated or controversial issue. Organisations responsible for public land are required to keep it clear of litter. If they’re not taking this responsibility seriously, we all have the power to compel them to do so.
“Railway operators and Network Rail are not the only offenders, but they are responsible for far too much uncollected litter. The first impression for a visitor arriving in a town is often formed by their view from a train carriage, and it is a disgrace that that view is so often a degraded and dirty one that suggests a lack of care or pride in the area.”
Mr Bryson says he will take action over the alleged state of railway property in Cambridgeshire, while other CPRE campaigners are poised to apply for Abatement Orders in several other places, including London Bridge, Ainsdale on Merseyside and St Austell in Cornwall.
Network Rail has already had some discussions with the CPRE, and said it was surprised by the Campaign's latest moves.
In a statement, the company explained: ‘We appreciate the concerns of CPRE, but we are surprised by their plans to encourage litter abatement notices to be served upon us. As well as joining us in support of the new Love Where You Live Campaign and following our meeting with CPRE in the summer of last year, we asked to speak to them again but the CPRE has not given us a date.
‘As one of Britain’s biggest landowners we remove thousands of tonnes of litter every year. If reported by the public, we aim to remove litter within 20 days.
‘Our dedicated maintenance teams regularly remove litter as part of their day to day responsibilities and we work closely with our contractors and projects to keep the areas in which they are working free of litter.
‘We are also proud to be a founding member of the Litter Challenge Group and work closely with DEFRA and Keep Britain Tidy.’
The situation on the railway can be complex. Although Network Rail is always the ground landlord, nearly all National Rail stations are leased and managed by franchise-holding operators. Station staff keep platforms, approaches and concourses clean, but are no longer allowed to clear up the tracks on the grounds of safety.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Steve, Swindon
It isn't only litter, it is still a disgrace that in 2011 some rolling stock continues to flush raw sewage on to the track.
Iain, brighton
I really support this, I live in Brighton, the line from London, has spots which are not accessible to the public, for example in between Horley and Gatwick, it is covered in litter. This litter has been there by people throwing things out the windows. The vast majority of trains that had windows that could be opened have been removed 5 to 10 years ago!
This is the first thing people see when the leave Gatwick airport by train.
Brian, Cardiff, Wales
How cnn Network rail executives be 'surprised.?'The litter on the railway network is an aboslute disgrace and shows a complete disrespect for the enviroment which they hold in stewardship.
H. Harvey, Birmingham
Way back in the good old days a dozen or so members of a rail group removed a great deal of litter from the Birmingham to Wolverhampton Rail line cutting. The local busy bodies had made similar complaints about the amount of litter on it.
Guess what ?
Most of the litter considsted of bits of old prams, bicyles and other household rubbish.
Of course those who had moaned included lived at the top of the cutting and had referred to 'rats'. as had their political representatives.
These politicians failed to tell us whether the 'rats' they referred to lived at the top of the cutting or at the bottom.
The episode highlights the lack of clear thinking as to cause and effect and to how things have hardly changed in that the railways are easy to criticise to get popular support.
Try as I could could not get the pram through the drop window on the train and even with my suprerhuman strength I could not throw it very far up the cutting. Nor could I wheel it up the face of the cutting - the damn thing had got no wheels on All pretty obvious really. - was it?
ps. I wonder is there anything in the coincidence of HS2 Mr Bryson's chairmanship of CPRE and his place of residence. I could never have got that pram out of that window.
Mark Rice, Chessington, United Kingdom
Litter dropped by the public is one problem. The other is contractors leaving old rails, bags of track clips, cables and sleepers left by the track side or slung into bushes. Why should the travelling public take pride in the railway when the workers maintaining it do not?
Joel Kosminsky, London, Britain
As a kid I was gently taught not to drop litter; education is the key. Litter is always "someone else's problem"... The lesson from my anti-Graffiti days was that QUICK clear-up reduces repetition. However, 'quick' costs money, so of course it's beyond the core business, isn't it?
Mrmerton, Epsom, Uk
Having just returned from a long around the world trip it is noticeable just how much litter there is in the Uk ; the worst of any country visited !!. Britain is a beautiful land now blighted by litterbugs!
I commend Mr Bryson for bringing this to the fore . The picture below the headline says it all ! Perpetrators should be fined and made to clear up litter and Network Rail should do its bit too .The public has had enough of Laissez Faire attitudes to this problem . It follows that Littter bins [ or clear plastic bag type bins ] should be provided immediately at all stations .
John Buckeridge, Woodford Halse, England
Ask big society to clear it up.
Paul Harley, Newport, UK
Network Rail aren't the problem - it's the passengers who drop this litter!
It would help if
(a) there were more litter bins/bags at stations and on trains and
(b) such disposal facilities were more prominent
Geraint Griffiths, Chester, England
Are there not more pressing issues facing the country and the transport system than a few pieces of rubbish left lying about? I think some people need to get out of their armchairs and join the real world.
Of course, Britain should be kept tidy, but this is just another campaign group whose militant mission will be of no great benefit to anybody.
Bill, Millom, UK
The litter on the railway land is aproblem for Network Rail but it is caused by the slovenly attitude of the public and compounded at stations by the lack of litter receptacles. This is occasionally removed, but far worse in my opinion is the amount of debris around the permenant way left behind by track workers and balast contaminated by oil from leaking diesel engines and sewage from train toilets which should have been converted to a retention type years ago!
George Boyle, High Peak, UK
Your photograph, and the written comments, seem to refer to litter on the track.
Given that the railways are privatised and there is nothing "public" about the track, how can these litter abatement orders referring to "public land" be enforceable?