Media centre

Thursday 14 Apr 2005

DEEP CLEAN FOR DEEPDALE BRANCH LINE

Region & Route:

Almost 600 tonnes of rubbish and debris has been successfully removed from the Deepdale branch line in Preston following action taken by Network Rail. Items including beds, sofas, tyres, washing machines, gas bottles, as well as domestic waste were removed from the site. In total enough waste to fill over forty 40 cubic metre skips was removed. The total cost of clearing the site was in excess of £50,000. Gary Openshaw, General Manager (Preston) said: “Illegal fly tipping on Network Rail land is a major problem for the company and we spend hundreds of thousands of pounds every year dealing with the issue. This is a huge amount of money, which could be more effectively spent in other areas.” All electrical appliances, tyres and gas bottles were separated from the debris and stacked for specialist disposal. Fly tipping and other acts of railway crime can be reported directly to the Railway Crime hotline on 0800 40 50 40, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.