Railways

Abstract

Railway land occupies large areas in the heart of cities. In addition to mainlines and stations, extensive areas of sidings and freight depots are present, together with much masonry and brickwork; particularly good for wildlife are the awkward V-shapes and triangles created where lines converge. It has been calculated that there are about 4000 km (2480 miles) of active track in urban areas to which must be added sidings and an unknown length of disused line. Owing to access difficulties, railway property is a poorly known habitat though a walking permit can sometimes be obtained for non-electrified stretches of line. The Nature Conservancy Council sponsored a major survey of Britain’s railway vegetation which took place between 1977 and 1981 (Sargent, 1984); for safety reasons it was restricted to the 14 000 km (8700 miles) of rural and semirural track. Many of the questions it asked and some of the answers have relevance to urban lines, but had these been included they would have been identified as highly distinctive and floristically the most interesting part of the railway network.