Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, has today announced that action would be taken against graffiti on Britain's railways as part of the ‘Great British September Clean'.
In a letter sent by the Transport Secretary, long term plans have been put in place to tackle the issue. Proposals should build on the action taken already, including a review of the response times to graffiti vandalism, so incidents are dealt with quickly.
Network Rail has already completed major work in this area, with £1m being spent in the spring to clear up graffiti, this is on top of its annual £3.5m programme of measures.
Graffiti on the railway can make passengers feel unsafe, and it is also unsightly.
People also trespass and put their lives at risk by putting the graffiti on trains in sidings.
Grant Shapps visited London Bridge on Monday 14th September 2020 to see the cleanup work being completed by Network Rail.
The Transport Secretary also visited a railway arch mural by Jimmy C in memory of the London Bridge Attack.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Phenomenal efforts have been made throughout this pandemic to ensure our transport network is clean and maintained to the highest standards, helping keep people safe, and people deserve roads and railways that are not blighted by graffiti and vandalism.”
“As we continue our focus on building back better as we recover from COVID-19, I want us to feel proud of our transport infrastructure and public spaces. Our extra investment to remove graffiti from our roads and railways means we can double our efforts to fight this issue and represents a positive step in the right direction.”
Richard McIlwain, Deputy Chief Executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, said: “We would encourage everyone to do their bit to help clean up the country and, during the Great British September Clean, ridding our transport network of graffiti would be a positive step towards creating a better environment for everyone.”
“Places that are covered in graffiti, particularly low-grade tagging, signal to the community at large that an area is unloved and uncared for and leads to increases in other environmental crimes such as littering and fly-tipping so we would urge everyone responsible for looking after our transport network to keep it graffiti and litter-free.”
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What action are they going to take against the graffiti daubers? Anyone caught daubing should get at least 6 months in jail or castration.
Nothing to do with Banksy. I think its young kids with graffiti sprays causing the damage including when they are trespassing onto the railway tracks.
Graffiti. It’s not only bridges, lineside, and stations that get “hit” by mindless graffiti vandals. A week or so ago, at least three of the remaining Isle of Wight Class 483 / ex-LT 1938 Tube Stock units were vandalised by these so-called “artists”, which had to be cleaned off one of the serviceable units before it could be used. Why? What is the point? It was really sad and demoralising for the Ryde Depot staff who do such a great job in keeping these remaining veteran EMUs going.
Except Banksy doesn’t get caught and still goes graffiti on almost anything.
Of course it would help if the fools at Network Rail used commonsense in cutting back lineside growth at certain locations.
This often obscures the lineside walls of properties and covers up any graffiti that might be on them.
I could point to locations where crews actually cut back growth to then reveal the graffiti………do no commonsense shown there……..just a strict and foolish adherence to a task or contract.
I could also point to locations where growth had been cut back to reveal a normal wall, which is than sprayed with graffiti by the spray can scum…….so the act of cutting back the growth shows them a wall they can disfigure………
It would help if society desisted from calling graffiti ‘art’ or ‘street art’……..but then a failed and degenerate education system run by left – wing clowns and politicians for decades has fostered the belief that graffiti is some form of freely expressive action that must be allowed.
The owners of freight wagon stock…..and it is mainly these that we see with graffiti on them……could take steps to ensure they employ better security in stabling wagons.
One fairly recent example of idiocy and lack of forward thinking and planning…..by contractors and Network Rail……..has seen repair work to a viaduct carried out with plain concrete buttressing …….
This was done in near white finished concrete and had attracted the graffiti scum ………
Any number of people involved in the contract to re-inforce the viaduct……..and there would likely have been dozens of them at various stages……..should have foreseen what might happen and either colour tinted the concrete, (although a plain surface would still be vulnerable), or secured coils of razor wire around the works from ground level up to a height of some five foot or so……..
Seeding and planting could have then been done…..at minimal cost…….which would ensure some form of plant growth up, through and intertwined with the wire.
The wire would have kept the graffiti scum away from the plain concrete wall until the growth had climbed through it.
Brambles or thistles would have done the trick and would be good for butterflies and bees…..
Ivy could have been let run up the plain concrete wall without compromising it’s structure……
None of this was done….!
One remembers some years ago that the new electric units stabled overnight in the open at Skipton were subject to graffiti attacks……
The TOC and the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive showed very little sense here….
Rather than keeping the stock at Leeds Station or Neville Hill overnight…..and then running it ECS up to Skipton in time for the first trains of the day back to Leeds & Bradford……..they decided to keep it at Skipton.
The resulting damage from graffiti, together with it’s unsightliness was the result……
The costs of repair likely far outweighed the costs of stabling at Leeds and running up to Skipton ECS for the early morning services…..
Of course, this matter was ‘dealt with’ in a most effective manner one night, when three members of the graffiti ‘scum’ fraternity were challenged by Mr Plod, whilst attacking the trains stabled at Skipton……
In attempting to evade capture…..and with little knowledge of railway infrastructure or operations…..they ran away, and into the path, (and under), an overnight, Leeds bound, freight that had just come over the Settle & Carlisle line.
All three are no more……..three less of the little darlings…..
Oh dear……!
How sad…..!
Never mind……!
James Hennighan
Yorkshire, England
Well written James, love the ending: Oh dear… …! etc.
Surely a better idea to wasting money cleaning up again and again would be to punish the vandals damaging the railway property? At the moment, these vandals are allowed to spray their mess, and even post images of themselves doing it on social media, knowing that the law won’t do anything about them.
A laudable idea but having seen the brand new Merseyrail electrics getting tagged before they have even reached their destination I feel that yet again we are observing a public relations exercise, that will be quietly forgotten once the “news” factor has dissipated.