Severn Valley Railway to conduct controlled burns along lines
Controlled burns along the Severn Valley Railway will cut the number of emergency fires on the line this summer.
In recent years, there have been a significant number of emergency calls to the popular attraction to deal with lineside fires.
These are often caused by ash from steam locomotives igniting undergrowth and grass – and the problem was particularly bad during the long hot summer of 2018.
During an especially hot spell last July, the railway took the decision to temporarily run only its heritage diesel locomotives to reduce the risk of fire after five separate call-outs on a single weekend. However, many visitors said they were disappointed, and that they wanted the full steam railway experience.
Staff went to a course run by North Yorkshire Moors Railway to learn about controlled burning.
They attended with firefighters from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.
Risk
Watch Commander Lee Slipanczewski from Bromsgrove Fire Station said: "The actions that we can now take will reduce the risk to the countryside and surrounding communities, and the impact on the Fire Service, when the steam trains are operating in the summer.
"It will also allow Severn Valley Railway to manage the undergrowth and permit wild flowers to return to areas covered by fern and bracken."
Watch Commander Slipanczewski said that the method of identifying areas most at risk of lineside fires uses exactly the same criteria used for predicting where wildfires would be most expected.
"Using this method, the group identified the four most at-risk areas and the time of day where fires would be most likely," he added.
"So now the group of volunteers know the high risk areas on which to concentrate, when the programme of controlled burning begins between February and April."
