VMS go bats for biodiversity by brightening up the train line as it passes Kettering

Rail passengers travelling along the Kettering and Market Harborough line may have noticed a brighter route since VMS started their biodiversity enhancement on the Midland Main Line electrification.

VMS specialise in vegetation management and habitat improvement, and working for their client SPL on behalf of Network Rail, have not only created a safe corridor for the electrified railway but reinstated a wildlife habitat with a minimum 10 per cent uplift on what was previously found there.

Managing director Rob Mallett said: “We adopt a ‘real world’ approach to our ecological works, to provide solutions to our clients whilst observing current best practice and legislation.”

Requiring a vegetation clearance of 6.5m from the tracks for safety purposes, scrubby undergrowth has been cut back.

But where traditionally these branches would have been chipped and returned to the ground adjacent to the rails, VMS have adopted a new approach.

Rob said: “This material when spread as woodchippings onsite can encourage bramble and other undesirable species to grow, smothering higher value habitat species such as grassland and wildflowers, so now it goes off to biomass.

"The cleared ground can now sustain grassland which is encouraged through a unique maintenance regime that will grow into a lush swathe which can also be seeded with wildflowers to form an enhanced environment, but which essentially does not grow too tall for its trackside position.”

VMS have their own in-house ecologists, all full PTS holders, who are able to undertake ecological assessments, surveys, and reports through to providing watching briefs where required.

Rob said: “The key thing for me is that I am putting something back.

“In the past you’d just have miles of woodchip spread out, whereas with our change of approach you are creating good high value wildlife habitat.

“Just recently one of our teams came across over 100 metres of Viola riviniana – Common Dog Violet growing just two metres from the running rail.

"This plant is very important for several fritillary butterflies because they lay their eggs on it.”

VMS’s ongoing works for 2023 include planting of hedgerows and trees, bat boxes, watervole habitat improvements and bug hotels, plus starting the next section going through to Leicester, so bosses say look out for mile after mile of route enhancement.