HUNDREDS of households have been warned about overnight railway maintenance work which will see chainsaws and other equipment disturbing residents through the night every weekend starting tomorrow until mid-December.
The scheme, which is being overseen by Network Rail, involves a nine-mile stretch of track along the Penistone Line along the Sheffield to Huddersfield route and is expected to last for 11 weeks.
Workers will carry out the removal of vegetation along the line every Saturday night from 11.30pm until 7.30am on Sunday, which involves the use of noisy machinery such as chainsaws.
The affected stretch runs from Penistone to Barnsley and every household within 150 metres of the track along the whole nine-mile stretch has been sent a letter this week notifying them of the work.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Vegetation management is an essential part of railway maintenance and this work is crucial to keeping both trains and passengers safe on the network.
“Lineside vegetation can obscure signals, get blown onto the tracks or grow to an extent where our staff do not have a safe place to wait while trains pass.
“Vegetation management can also help prevent leaves falling on the line which hamper trains’ acceleration and braking.
“To undertake this work, we will use a variety of equipment that can include chainsaws, flail machines, wood chippers or handsaws.
“The equipment we use means some disturbance is unavoidable, but we will make every effort to minimise any unnecessary noise. Furthermore, those working are briefed on doing so responsibly in the local community.
“Where suitable, logs and branches will either be left to create a safe habitat for wildlife, chipped or spread evenly or will be completely removed from the site.
“We understand that working by properties overnight is far from ideal, but we are obliged to work on the railway at times that cause least disruption to trains.
“Unfortunately this means carrying out a lot of our work at weekends or overnight.”
Lisa Hamilton, of Grosvenor Gardens off Dodworth Road, told the Chronicle the work will affect homes which lie adjacent to the railway.
“Our street will be completely disturbed by the work as it won’t be starting until around midnight,” she said. “This will go on for hours and I don’t think it’s right for those of us who work or live so near the track, which is six metres away.
“I’m up at 4.15am to start work on Sunday morning so I’ll be completely disturbed. Network Rail has already said the work will involve chainsaws so there’s a lot of annoyed people.”
A road closure will be put in place on Station Road, Dodworth, for the duration of the work, Network Rail said.
However, the spokesperson assured residents that given the on-the-move nature of the work, they will not be affected for the full 11-week period.
“As we will be moving along the track we won’t be outside any one property for very long so each household should only be disturbed for a couple of hours and certainly not for the whole duration of the work,” they added.
“We have written to every household within 150 metres of the track along the nine-mile stretch and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience this essential work may cause.”
