What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity is the variety of plants and animals found all over the world. It includes all living things, native and non-native. They can be legally protected or invasive.  

What has biodiversity got to do with the railway?

Biodiversity lives in many different habitats, both natural and man-made. Our estate has many of those habitats, from saltmarsh to sidings, and broadleaved woodland to bridges. All of them have things living in them and on them, and all of them need to be managed so that we can fulfil our purpose to connect people and goods with where they need to be. When we plan and then carry out habitat management, we need to be aware of the plants and animals that call our estate home.  

Some examples:

A bush in a car park – how does a station car park become an essential night-time roost for hundreds of wagtails?

What does this mean for my role?

Fundamentally, you should carry on doing the work you do to help run a safe and efficient railway. That is why we are here. However, if you are planning work, or are part of the team doing maintenance, you need to think about when and how the work is done.  Small changes in techniques, or even time of year, can have a massive positive impact on the species around the railway.  It may make the work safer and cheaper, and importantly, support nature’s recovery. These pages and links will help you to understand how the work you need to do can affect plants and animals. They will, importantly, provide you with guidance or find you someone to ask, so that you can do your job.

Related pages

Supporting nature’s recovery
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
Breeding birds
Guidance notes and technical manuals
Invasive Non-Native Species
Nature-based Solutions
Protected sites and species