Undermined by rabbits

I read with great interest the articles in RAIL 912 on the problems that Network Rail is facing with embankments and cuttings, with regard to erosion, landslips, drainage problems and climate change - as highlighted by the tragic events at Carmont.

It certainly brought home to me the scale of the problem that NR faces throughout the entire country, with all the different topography that the Victorian engineers used to construct the embankments and cuttings coupled with today’s vegetation issues.

One thing which really concerns me is the numbers of rabbits that are undermining the cuttings and embankments with their warrens. Near where I live, on part of the Great Western Railway four-track railway, the presence of rabbits within those areas is like being next to Watership Down.

It would be interesting to hear Network Rail’s thoughts on this, because in my eyes it appears to be an accident waiting to happen.

Robert Small, Reading