Comments on: How to make the rail network climate resilient and nature-positive https://www.newcivilengineer.com/the-future-of/how-to-make-the-rail-network-climate-resilient-and-nature-positive-22-02-2024/ Civil engineering and construction news and jobs from New Civil Engineer Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:00:36 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0 https://www.newcivilengineer.com/wp-content/themes/mbm-mops-2017/images/logo.gif New Civil Engineer https://www.newcivilengineer.com 125 75 Civil engineering and construction news and jobs from New Civil Engineer By: peter.stilliard@jacobs.com.qsi https://www.newcivilengineer.com/the-future-of/how-to-make-the-rail-network-climate-resilient-and-nature-positive-22-02-2024/#comment-4693 Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:00:36 +0000 https://www.newcivilengineer.com/?p=274606#comment-4693 Good to see this issue being given coverage. There is huge opportunity just through a change or relaxation in management and maintenance practices of network rail assets to benefit biodiversity. It is, however, remiss of the article not to mention the losses of Ancient Woodland and other priority habitats that expansion of the rail network has resulted in. As much as targets for improving biodiversity are good, the irretrievable losses must be halted at all costs. We are operating from a place of nature deficit, after all, the UK in the bottom 10% globally and last among the G7 group of nations in terms of nature depletion. Where new railways cross areas of land currently low in biodiversity there is absolutely a great opportunity to improve this with adjacent land to the lines.

In terms of flood resilience, I admire that the wider catchment management practices and NFM have been mentioned rather than focusing on solutions at the receptor, in this case the railway.

Pete, Edinburgh.

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