The Friends of the Far North Line
Cairdean Na Loine Tuath
the campaign group for rail north of
Inverness - lobbying for improved services for the local user, tourist and freight
operator
At the end of her comments Cassandra exhorts Network Rail, and lineside landowners to cut down the trees.
The threat to railway safety from falling trees is obvious. So is the solution, but with a disregard for safety which no government would condone if an airport or its flights were threatened in a similar manner, there seems to be no specific legal requirement for the owners of trees beside railway lines to ensure they are far enough away to be safe in the event of a storm.
The somewhat less common arrival of a summer storm on 4 August brought the issue into sharp focus again when a large section of a tree landed on the overhead wires near Stirling and hung there.
Of course, trees are even more at risk from high summer winds as their leaves offer more resistance than winter trunks, branches and twigs.
There appears to be no specific legal requirement on the owners of lineside trees to do anything more than a rather vague duty to ensure that their trees are safe. This is of course open to interpretation to say the least.
One firm of lawyers offers this advice:
If it transpires that you own the tree, you have a duty to ensure that the trees on your property are safe. You will need to check the tree regularly for signs of damage or disease and carry out routine maintenance to remove dead branches and other hazards, which may require the advice and services of a specialist tree surgeon. It is important that you record the time and extent of your inspections and what, if any, maintenance you had to carry out as a result, bearing in mind that the purpose is to minimise the chances of passers by being hurt.
It goes on to say:
If your tree overhangs someone else's property, they are entitled to remove the intruding branches back to the boundary line but should return the branches / wood / fruit back to you as the land owner. Your neighbour can only enter your land to cut back any branches with your consent. If, however, the tree is subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), local authority permission must be sought before any work is carried out. Check with your local authority if you are concerned that any of the trees for which you are responsible are protected.
When it comes to tree debris i.e. leaves, twigs and sticks, there is no obligation to pick up leaves that blow on to someone else's land. However, tree debris could cause a drain blockage resulting in flood damage (for instance). Therefore, it would be prudent to check, as part of your regular inspection process, that tree debris is not causing, or likely to cause, any hazards.
This certainly suggests that Network Rail might be able to construct a case against a negligent tree owner, but it would be far simpler to enshrine in law that you may not have a tree above a defined height less than a defined distance from the boundary with railway land.
Of course, many home owners would be affected by this, and might not be too pleased. However, if shown a photo of the wreckage of the driver's cab after a train struck a fallen tree, they shouldn't have too much difficulty understanding the issue.
Under the heading "What happens if someone makes a claim?" another legal firm offers this advice:
There is no obligation on owners or occupiers to guarantee that trees are safe. What is reasonable care will depend on the specific circumstances, including your financial means. If you can demonstrate that you have assessed the risk posed by trees on your land and have devised and implemented a reasonable policy for managing that risk, you should be in a good position to defend a claim.
As with any claim situation, having good records of inspections, maintenance and decision making is key and can be crucial to proving that you have not been negligent.
On 27 December 2023 a train travelling at 84 mph hit a fallen tree near Broughty Ferry [below]. In the two seconds from seeing the tree, to the collision, the driver managed to survive by dropping to the floor. In the subsequent accident report the Railway Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) stated that "Dundee City Council did not effectively manage the risk of trees falling from its land onto the adjacent railway lines."
The danger to rail safety isn't just from high winds. Autumn leaves have been responsible for two recent accidents, one near Salisbury and one on the Cambrian Line in Mid Wales [right], in both instances trains simply slid along the track for considerable distances before colliding with another train.
On the Far North Line there are many places where trains are brushing hard against foliage which has been allowed to grow on railway land. Network Rail is of course well aware of this and is working to remove, or cut back, the offending plants. Unfortunately the legacy of British Rail's relaxation of foliage control once steam engines were no longer setting it on fire looms large, and there is still much to be done.
Is it too much to ask the Scottish Government (or even the UK one) to legislate so that lineside trees are no longer near the railway?