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Fury as rail workers fell trees at 3am
 
THE flats near Queen's Park station where owners have been woken up in the middle of the night by tree felling
THE flats near Queen's Park station where owners have been woken up in the middle of the night by tree felling
 
<p><h4>CASESTUDY: ANGELA CASEY</h4>ANGELA had a rude awakening when the chainsaws moved in to remove mature trees and bushes that had provided the view from the rear of her flat.</p><p>The 28-year-old administrator had no warning when the workers set about removing all the greenery from the embankment at the rear of her home.</p><p>She said: 'It was bad enough being woken up at three in the morning by people chipping trees into tiny pieces.</p><p>'Now when I look out there's just a mess. </p><p>'The whole embankment is bald, with piles of sawdust and the odd stump painted bright green.</p><p>'There used to be wildlife here and a bit of a view.</p><p>'It will take years to grow back.'

CASESTUDY: ANGELA CASEY

ANGELA had a rude awakening when the chainsaws moved in to remove mature trees and bushes that had provided the view from the rear of her flat.

The 28-year-old administrator had no warning when the workers set about removing all the greenery from the embankment at the rear of her home.

She said: 'It was bad enough being woken up at three in the morning by people chipping trees into tiny pieces.

'Now when I look out there's just a mess.

'The whole embankment is bald, with piles of sawdust and the odd stump painted bright green.

'There used to be wildlife here and a bit of a view.

'It will take years to grow back.'

 

by John McCann

ANGRY families in Glasgow are being woken up in the middle of the night by workers felling trees with chainsaws.

Rail bosses say the work is a "vegetation emergency" after last year's heavy rainfalls left embankments all round the Cathcart Circle line vulnerable to landslides.

They say some mature trees have already collapsed onto the line and claim the best time to fell the trees is from 12.30am to 6am.

But sleepless residents in Strathbungo were driven mad by the din of chainsaws on three nights last week.

And homes alongside the entire route will face similar disruption over the next month.

Mhairi Cowley, a music promoter who lives next to Queens Park station, was forced to plug her ears with cotton wool after being woken up at 3am last Thursday and again at the weekend.

She said: "I thought what on earth is that noise?' I looked outside and there was a group of guys with chainsaws and what looked like miners' helmets.

"Network Rail said there was a vegetation emergency'. I reckon they have neglected this problem for some time.

"They don't want to close a busy line and lose money, so they go in with chainsaws in the middle of the night - despite hundreds of people living all round the line."

The workers added to the misery by breaking down the felled trees into small chips on site.

A Network Rail spokeswoman apologised for the noise but insisted there was no alternative.

She said: "We have every sympathy with those who face disruption but unfortunately there is never an ideal time to carry out noisy work.

"It is not possible to run an efficient transport system and shut down the line during the day to carry out work."

The spokeswoman said the trees were too large to be carried away and it wasn't safe to break them down during the day with trains passing nearby.

Network Rail said it had tried to deliver letters to more than 1000 homes affected but that it was often impossible to gain access to locked closes.

Next week work will begin on a stretch of line between Cathcart station and Pollokshields West.

Residents affected can call Network Rail's 24-hour information line on 08457 11 41 41 for more details.

Publication date 01/02/07
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