UK rail network 'at risk' from climate change



This is a laugh. The incompetently-managed British bus and rail networks grind to a halt for considerable periods every winter. Global warming is just about the only thing that might keep them running

Changes to the climate could pose a "serious threat" to the UK rail network, scientists have warned. Extreme weather events - wet winters and hot summers - are projected to become more common over the next 50 years as a result of global warming.

A new study, in the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, predicts this could lead to more landslides and floods. The authors say the damage could cause "widespread disruption" to travel.

To reach their conclusions, scientists from the University of Southampton and Network Rail studied the number of landslides and floods that resulted in delays of more than eight hours to rail travel.

They found that the frequency of these major incidents was far higher during the wet winter of 2000-2001, when rail passengers experienced widespread travel disruption. Scientists predict that such wet winters will become more common in the future, raising fears that climate change could result in "travel chaos".

Lead author Fleur Loveridge, a PhD student at the University of Southampton, said: "This is a really serious issue which needs to be addressed."

Ms Loveridge told BBC News: "Climate change in the near future is 'locked in' - it's too late to change that.

More HERE

1 comment:

  1. Isn't it time these people were no longer referred to as scientists. Statisticians at best.

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