Hundreds of miles of railway lines around Britain’s coast are becoming increasingly vulnerable to waves, landslides and storms triggered by climate pollution, according to Professor Robert Duck from the University of Dundee, quoted by The Guardian. Numerous sections of railway in Wales, Cumbria, Devon and elsewhere are at risk of being washed away because they are very close to the sea.
Network Rail accepted that coastal lines were vulnerable to extreme weather. “That’s why we spend millions each year protecting the railway from nature’s worst attacks,” said a company spokeswoman. “We’ve published a series of route-based weather resilience and climate change plans which explain our understanding of how weather can affect the railway and the potential impact of changes in our climate. We explain what we’re doing to mitigate the impacts.”
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