text: Qualified Tree Surgeons can Avoid Railway Incidents - Sunnybank Forestry Ltd - Company number 11699187 -
  Qualified Tree Surgeons can Avoid Railway Incidents
  Our tree surgeons are highly trained and experienced – and that expertise can be important when working alongside the city's many railway lines.
  They are just one of the problems tree surgeons sometimes need to contend with, but properly performed tree felling does not have to pose a risk to passing trains – unlike a recent incident in Ryton, near Newcastle.
  A 52-year-old self-professed Durham tree surgeon was contracted by Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council to fell two poplar trees.
  His instruction was to remove the unstable trees, amid fears that they might fall on to the nearby railway track on the Newcastle-Carlisle route.
  Ironically, errors in his technique meant that is exactly what happened, and a Northern Rail train crashed into the tree, which in turn collided with the tree surgeon.
  The cost of the damage and repair work to the train and the track totalled over £100,000.
  HSE inspector Jonathan Wills said: "It is vital that, as part of the risk assessment, surrounding hazards such as railway lines or overhead power lines are identified, and controls put in place to reduce the risk of the trees being felled towards them."
  If you are concerned about any hazards within the vicinity of old, rotten or otherwise unstable trees, our tree surgeons can advise you on the best course of action – and hold the necessary expertise to carry out the work correctly.