Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train journeys have been delayed because of fallen trees or leaves on the line by train operating company in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Britain has the safest railway in Europe and proactive vegetation management has reduced the number of incidents of large trees falling on the railway by 50% over the last four years.

However, last year there were more than 1,200 times when trees or large branches caused disruption to the railway network. Network Rail recorded a total of 41,144 delay minutes as a result of fallen / encroaching vegetation in 2017/18. A breakdown of these minutes by Train Operating Company can be seen below.

Network Rail recorded a total of 195,400 delay minutes caused by leaves impacting the performance of trains and the wider network in 2017/18. A breakdown of these minutes by Train Operating Company can be seen below.