Biodiversity on Britain’s railway

As one of Britain’s biggest landowners, we are responsible for looking after plants and wildlife on the railway.

Biodiversity is the variety of plants and animals we see in different habitats. Britain’s railway provides a habitat to many rare species, and we must do everything we can to protect them.

Our estate, which is about 52,000 hectares in size, is also used by many different types of wildlife. Often referred to as the ‘green corridor’, the land around the railway is home to a richly diverse variety of species. We do everything we can to protect it.

The ‘green corridor’ is relatively undisturbed thanks to a lack of public access. For example, common lizards, grass snakes, deer and water vole make their homes close to the railway in East Anglia, while slow worms have been spotted in the south-west of England. Pipistrelle bats also often live on the railway, roosting in trees, tunnels and bridges.

Gatehead-Bee-Bank-biodiversity
Bee bank at Gatehead

The railway plays a vital role in connecting fragmented wildlife habitats across our countryside, reducing disturbance to our neighbours, and capturing carbon through the network’s six million trees.

That’s why our ambition is to let nature flourish. As part of our environmental sustainability strategy, we’ve committed to continuing to look after plants and wildlife by protecting and maintaining their habitats and creating new ones to increase biodiversity.

What are we doing to protect biodiversity on the railway? 

Over the next five years, we’ll transform our approach to vegetation management to deliver a safe, efficient, and biodiverse railway fit for the future.

We’ve worked with biodiversity experts using satellites to survey the whole of our estate, which condensed together, is one and a half times the Isle of Wight size. 

The satellite data allows us to split our land into different habitats, including woodland and various kinds of meadows. Using this information, we can look beyond our fence line and find similar habitats near us. So, we can then work with our neighbours to improve the connections between different habitats and increase biodiversity on the railway.

Educating our workforce

It’s our trackside workers who come face to face with wildlife most often. We give them the training they need to help identify the wildlife they might come across so they can record sightings and then report to one of our environmental specialists. Our in-house ecologists also provide identification checklists and awareness briefings.

The video below, about identifying the habitats of Great Crested Newts, is part of a series provided for railway workers by the Track Safety Alliance, an industry-wide group created to develop and share best practice, largely focused on improving the health, safety and wellbeing of track workers.

Biodiversity stories from around the railway

Dormice_AI_2023
Dec 13, 2023
Our railway is home to a variety of plant and animals, including the dormice. Find out how we’re using innovative methods to help them.
Bat being examined
Oct 31, 2023
Did you know the railway is a commuting route for bats? Bats follow the landscape using sound rather than sight at night. They navigate their routes by using sound waves to understand the distance and size...
A-Bat-being-recorded-by-Network-Rails-ecological-experts-for-East-West-Rail-1
May 19, 2022
We find many protected species around the railway.
Newt-on-log-min
Sep 7, 2021
We’re working hard to improve the way we manage biodiversity around the railway. 
Network Rail transforms Northamptonshire work compound into first habitat to protect wildlife following major railway upgrades
Sep 2, 2021
Trackside Tara talks about her passion for a big biodiversity project
Biodiversity
Jan 21, 2021
Scientists are using cutting-edge technology as part of our ambitious plan to improve sustainability near the railway.

Trees and other railway habitats

Our biodiversity targets

2024

  • Collect baseline information about our diverse railway habitats so that we can manage them effectively.
  • Run a reliable railway and look after all existing plants and wildlife on our land in a way that causes no net loss of biodiversity.

2035

  • Increase levels of biodiversity near the railway by creating new habitats or managing invasive weeds.
  • Lead the way in land management, advising others on how to manage and increase biodiversity.

Downloads

Related pages

Generic-aerial-view-railway-vegetation
Next stop: A greener future Rail is already the greenest form of public transport and we’re on a journey to a cleaner, greener future. Caring for our planet is important to our passengers, and it's...
Train Blurr
We'll cut our carbon so that the railway will be net-zero emissions by 2045 in Scotland and by 2050 in the rest of Britain.   It’s crucial that we do everything we can as a business...
Dawlish damage
We prepare for the weather's impact on our network by forecasting it daily and understanding the projected effects of climate change. Weather: the challenges we face More frequent and more extreme weather conditions caused by...
ballast-recycling
We must reduce, re-use and recycle the materials we use to avoid waste. We have a huge opportunity to contribute to a more circular economy, where we extract fewer resources from the planet, keep materials...