Wednesday 21 Oct 2020
Super-fast graffiti cover up in £500k Midlands and Chiltern railway crackdown
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
- | North West & Central: Central
Graffiti on the railway is being targeted across the West Midlands and Chilterns area to improve its appearance for passengers and people who live and work nearby.
*Downloadable unedited B-Roll footage at the bottom of the media release*
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.
Network Rail’s Central route, which covers the West Midlands down to London Marylebone, is investing £500k to target graffiti in known problem areas.
It’s also the first step in cleaning up the railway in the Birmingham area ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
To complete as much work as quickly as possible, teams are trialling a cleaner and greener airless spraying system which allows them to clear graffiti six times faster than with traditional paint and rollers.
The new kit means a 200-metre stretch of wall can be repainted in 30 minutes compared to three hours using traditional tools.
Allun Edge, maintenance protection coordinator at Network Rail, said: “Graffiti is a challenge for the railway so tackling it more quickly and efficiently is a big win for us.
“Cleaning up vandalised walls and areas will improve the look and feel of the rail network and will help to restore confidence as we work to welcome passengers back to travelling by train. Our goal is to make sure that everybody using the network 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 innovating by investing in new technology to deal with the problem.
“As we build back better and prepare for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, removing graffiti across the West Midlands 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. Incidents of graffiti can be reported to Network Rail’s 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.
Click the arrow on the bottom right hand corner of the video player to download
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk