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Thursday 17 Dec 2020

Graffiti hotspots targeted in major railway clean-up across Anglia’s rail network

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

Graffiti is being targeted across Anglia’s rail network to improve its appearance for passengers and people who live and work nearby.

The clean-up operation is supporting the Secretary of State Grant Shapps’ recent commitment to improve the look and feel of the railway as part of efforts to encourage people to travel by train.

Graffiti is a blight on the railway and Network Rail spends £3.5m every year cleaning offensive material.

Those who carry out graffiti vandalism are also reminded that trespassing on the railway and committing acts of vandalism with graffiti is a crime as well as being incredibly dangerous.

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “The clean-up will improve the look and feel of the rail network and I hope this will help to restore confidence as we work to welcome passengers back to travelling by train. Our goal is to make sure that everyone travelling by train feels safe and comfortable to do so.”

Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Rail minister, said: “We’ve been clear that the blight of graffiti on our railways must be tackled, and I am delighted to see Network Rail focused on dealing with the problem.

“As we build back better, removing graffiti across Anglia will improve our railway and make stations and services more pleasant for passengers.”

Trespassing on the railway and committing acts of vandalism with graffiti is a crime. There are fines of up to £1,000 for trespassing on the railway. Incidents of graffiti can be reported to Network Rail’s 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.