Power workers weeded the railway track at the world’s oldest working electric railway on Brighton seafront, to help keep summer train excursions on track.
Fifteen network planners from UK Power Networks spent a day keeping ragwort and other invasive weeds at bay for Volk’s Electric Railway on Madeira Drive through Donate a Day, which gives staff two paid days leave each year to work on local volunteer projects.
Like painting the Forth Bridge, keeping vegetation away from the railway track at Volk’s Electric Railway is an endless task, carried out by hand, to protect a rare plant which thrives in the coastal shingle habitat at the railway, part of the local nature reserve. The group weeded half a mile of railway track between the aquarium and the mid-way station.
James Barton, manager of Volk’s Electric Railway, said: “The team made an amazing difference that we could not have done without them. They weeded well over half the railway line and removed by hand small plants between the rails and the sleepers.
“The railway is a local nature reserve so it’s tricky work. We gave them identification handouts because the railway is home to a very rare plant called Babington’s Leek and sea kale, which grow in vegetated shingle, but we also have invasive plants, such as ragwort.
“Vegetation is an ongoing battle and is often work people don’t want to do, but it’s essential because we can’t run the trains when the plants are there, and it’s a local nature reserve, so the work has to be done by hand.”
James praised the railway’s numerous regular volunteers and welcomes help from newcomers, like the team from UK Power Networks, who were delighted to get involved. “We couldn’t run the railway without our army of volunteers,” he said.
Peter Convey-Wells, a lead planning engineer at UK Power Networks, said: “It was a really good day. We were clearing weeds near the track so the railway could operate. We achieved more than we expected and it made a noticeable difference.
“Everyone enjoyed themselves working on Brighton beach. It’s the oldest electric railway in the world, and they welcome volunteers to keep on top of the tasks.”
Image credit: UK Power Networks
