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Tuesday 12 Apr 2022

Graffiti and fly-tipping hotspots targeted in major railway spring clean

Region & Route:

Wales & Western

| Wales & Western: Western

Communities across the West of England and Berkshire will now benefit from a tidier, more welcoming railway following the removal of graffiti and rubbish from 36 key hotspots across the region.

Over the past couple of months, Network Rail’s teams across the country have been working to freshen up Britain's railway in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee year with more than £2m of funding being used to target the removal of unsightly graffiti which blights infrastructure.

Across Network Rail’s Western route – which covers the railway and towns and communities between Penzance and London Paddington – a clean-up of 36 hot spots has been completed.

Graffiti has been removed from a number of sites across the West of England and Berkshire including Redland station, Victoria Park and St Luke’s Road in Bristol, Corston viaduct between Saltford and Bath, and Horseshoe bridge in Reading, while large amounts of fly-tipped waste has been removed from a number of areas including Keynsham and St Annes Park in Bristol.

Rail workers have cleared bags of waste and used pressure washers and wire scrubbing brushes to remove stubborn spray-painted tags, applying anti-graffiti paint where possible to deter people from targeting the same areas in future.

Mike Gallop, Network Rail Western route and strategic operations director, said: “I’m really pleased with the improvements we’ve made in cleaning up the graffiti and fly-tipping hotspots identified on the railway across Western route.

“Graffiti and fly-tipping make the railway look untidy for passengers and those who live nearby. We want to make sure that everyone feels safe and welcome on the railway, which is why targeting these sites for a spring clean was so important.

“We’ll continue to work with our colleagues at the British Transport Police and the Department for Transport to tackle this issue and identify the most heavily affected parts of our network.”

British Transport Police Inspector Jon Dando said: “The cost of cleaning graffiti is enormous - money which could otherwise be invested back into the network. It also causes significant disruption to services and inconvenience to passengers as trains are taken out of service to be cleaned.

“Graffiti on the railway is also incredibly dangerous, often involving trespassing onto the tracks, which can result in tragic consequences or life-changing injuries.

“If you notice anyone acting suspiciously or vandalising the railway, you can easily report it to us by discreetly texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40.”