Advice please, railway embankment repairs and restoring the ecology/replanting.

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

The home of some close family has a railway embankment at the back of their garden.  Up until last year the entire length of the embankment had for many years been screened by the undergrowth, bushes and trees along it's side...and largely still is. Then directly behind their house a landslip occured.... although trains could still run along it on the Bristol Parkway to Wales route.
Network Rail have since completed repairs to the embankment but despite apparent earlier assurances that there would be remedial replanting on the embankment repairs, what has now been left is a rather ugly ballast covered bank standing higher than their house as well as a concrete retaining wall.
When they asked Network Rail if anything was in fact going to be done, the reply was basically a "no" and that any ecological /cosmetic remediation was the job of the council.....and so a game of "responsibility tennis" looks like starting.

Do any forum members have any knowledge or advice on what NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s actual responsibilities are regarding restoring the repaired area to something like before?
The repaired length is quite short but very impactful on their formerly pleasant view.

[ChrisB]

Within the rail boundary? Nothing, unfortunately - it's their land to run trains on, not to look pretty.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm.  That's a whole can of worms opening up there (metaphorically), johnneyw 

Firstly, I do offer my sympathy to your family members in that situation.

However, from a legal perspective (and I am not a lawyer myself, merely an experienced observer), it may well be that Network Rail have no requirement to reinstate the outlook beyond anyone's garden.  In local planning permission applications, for example, the objection that 'it will reduce the amount of sunlight into my garden' is generally discounted, because nobody has a right to sunlight in their garden.

Here in Nailsea, Network Rail recently did some quite robust deforestation on the railway embankment to the east of our station. But, within a couple of seasons, smaller undergrowth reappeared, so it soon all appeared much greener and neater.

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to offer any more encouraging input here, but your suggested approach of starting 'responsibility tennis' could be the route to go. Then, if that doesn't work, you could go to the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page).

[johnneyw]

It's rather as I thought but thanks to you both for the above replies.  Indeed, the structural integrity of the line rightly comes first but I was curious as to, if with today's emphasis on the environment, NR^» (Network Rail - home page) had set themselves any guidelines regarding the ecology of their embankments, cuttings etc.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm, again. 

If you look at the amount of clearly 'industrial waste' left behind after Network Rail (and / or their contractors) have done some work at any location, you do have to wonder. 

CfN.

[infoman]

johnneyw

Could you post a photo of the area effected.

[johnneyw]

johnneyw

Could you post a photo of the area effected.

Might be able to later.  I'll see what I can do.

[eXPassenger]

Based on the comment above that a deforested area was now regrowing there may be dormant seeds that will germinate and grow (with or without any external assistance)

[Chris from Nailsea]

Based on the comment above that a deforested area was now regrowing there may be dormant seeds that will germinate and grow (with or without any external assistance)

That'll be me, then.

When I posted that Network Rail have done some 'quite robust deforestation' on the embankment to the east of our station, what I actually meant was, they chainsawed everything down to ground level. 

I have no problem with that: Network Rail were catching up with many years of historic undone trackside maintenance, all in one go.  The mainline Bristol to Exeter Railway (thank you, Brunel) running along it is perfectly safe, but that railway embankment is indeed a bit flaky on the edges around here.  When I worked with the Severnside Community Rail Partnership, we were told not to put any of our Community Payback 'convicts' up on the embankments (for bramble and weed clearance, for example), simply because it wasn't safe, without suitable training and safety equipment.

The particular stretch of the embankment to which I referred above is not actually overlooked (for a quite considerable distance) and has indeed returned to natural green vegetation - but at ground level.  Some squirrels may have been inconvenienced, but they would have been of the grey variety, so they don't count.

CfN. 

[johnneyw]

johnneyw

Could you post a photo of the area effected.

Might be able to later.  I'll see what I can do.

Here's a before and after:

[Chris from Nailsea]

Blimey!  That does indeed make a difference in their outlook!

Is there a footpath, possibly, between the fence and the foot of that scree slope?

[Electric train]

johnneyw

Could you post a photo of the area effected.

Might be able to later.  I'll see what I can do.

Here's a before and after:

The ballast will eventually become over grown with grass. 

If NR^» (Network Rail - home page) planted trees behind the fence on their land they would have to ensure the tree roots did not encroach onto your relatives land.

A letter to their local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) to see if they could get NR to do some "camouflaging"

[johnneyw]

Blimey!  That does indeed make a difference in their outlook!

Is there a footpath, possibly, between the fence and the foot of that scree slope?

Yes there is which offers hope for perhaps some sort of planting but adds the complication of who owns the land....it may well be the council....where I think enquiries are already being made.