British Railway: _e x i s t s_ Butterfly Bush: *_IT’S FREE REAL ESTATE_*

In Australia we learned this lesson 150 years ago. Blackberries, Gorse, rabbits, foxes, Prickly Pear, and so many others. Which is why we have maintained the tightest quarantine rules in the world. Any foreign plant or animal or pathogen has the potential to be a disaster. We would have called this a "noxious weed" and ordered all landholders and property owners to destroy it on sight.

It's 10 past 9 on a Friday evening and I'm watching a video on the problems of Buddleja on our railways. I know how to live life in the fast lane.

It's not a buddleja problem, it's a lack of maintenance problem.

The most worrying aspect has got to be the brickwork damage. Not good to see.

I'm a driver on one of the networks you highlighted here, the foothold this plant has established around the Brixton area is ridiculous!! On the Atlantic lines there's one bush that's so established itself in the cess that it's become a small tree, the trunk is so thick now. On the Catford Loop around Loughborough Junction the train scrapes the lineside bushes as we drive by, very likely dispersing even more seeds. I do worry about the condition of the brickwork of the viaducts, I'd imagine the root system must work itself deep into the brickwork. I honestly don't know why Network Rail don't have a regular program of spraying these bushes with herbicide to at least check their growth, they just seem to get cut back every now and then...

This excellent video should be made compulsory viewing for all Network Rail employees, but most specially the Board of Directors. If the damage is not stopped early, the eventual costs will be very high indeed. To allow this damage to continue to the Railway infrastructure is madness.

I know that Buddleia is a massive problem on the railways (and elsewhere) but I have to admit that it’s ‘nicer’ to look at than the graffiti that also features in this video!

They were declared a national weed plant in NZ and therefore it was illegal to distribute. Lovely plant, but too troublesome.

*Sad to see a once great empire in such a deplorable state of decay....*

They need to reintroduce track work gangs, so that gang is responsible for the area of track designated to them, they could maintain the track, try and remove graffiti and general maintenance

Yes you are right to highlight this. Network Rail is inept and lazy. The lineside is a disgrace. And ultimately there will be a collision, derailment or structure collapse caused by their mismanagement when vegetation obscures a signal or destroys brickwork.

The Flying Scotsman is gonna become a garden train set.

We had this problem once before and it's not just simply a matter of one plant. At the end of British Rail days and the beginning of privatisation, all sorts of vegetation, shrubs and trees were growing at an alarming rate all over the railway system. Railtrack (Network Rail) were given a roasting by the operating companies and did clear up a lot of it but it took years. The past couple of years have seen a return to this problem and NR don't seem bothered about it - they have even resignalled tracks that are almost impossible to see through the foliage! Drivers have complained but, I don't think that any have taken any major action even though there is a real safety risk. There is no excuse for any of this and it must be dealt with immediately!

Complete lack of care by British Rail. The longer it is left like that the more evasive it gets. Root damage to brick building, bridges ect, should have been tackled long, long ago. This Should be published in every British newspaper to embarrass the government and British rail and keep on reporting about until they do something about it.

Fascinating video Morthren 👍. I've always turned a blind eye to vegetation around the UKs transport network. However, this video has significantly changed my opinion. It definitely seems like an ever increasing problem and unless it's tackled the 'buddleja' looks like it will get far worse and damage important equipment.

I like this. Good to see you trying out a new subject matter slightly out of comfort zone; it worked really well.

When I was young in the 60s/70s, central London was overgrown with Buddleia on bombsites. Development eventually kills it off, but left alone it will, as you say destroy brick walls. I suspect the clearance of so many track-side trees have made it worse, providing sunny ground which previously would not have been a suitable environment. It can be no coincidence that the spread has been so fast recently.

An interesting subject that I'm in two minds about.. It shows what damage long-term neglect can have on infrastructure. A small spend early on to stop Buddleia taking hold would prevent expensive structural renovation later. However, railway land bordering permanent way is frequently a vital 'wildlife corridor'. Particularly in dense urban areas and the habitats provided by Buddleia are important for wildlife, endangered bees and other vital pollinators for instance. One good thing about the many variations of cultivated Buddleia available is that most of them are bred to be non-invasive and nectar rich. Great for gardens. Do please keep up the interesting videos.

In the days of BR the railways had a scorched earth policy on trackside maintenance, literally! It was common policy the use controlled burning on embankments and cuttings. Some of this was due to a need to prevent out of control fires being started by steam locomotives though.

Be glad that you don't have Kudzu. That having been said, some years ago when the Corps of Engineers (the US Army's Corps of Engineers has responsibility for maintaining the Riverbeds in the US) recommended that the flood control stream beds (during the rainy season the riverbeds in Southern California go from dry, or mere trickles, to raging torrents) be cleared of all large vegetation, the tree huggers had a fit about destroying the 'endangered species' in the waterways . Until it was pointed out that the bamboo and other plants in the riverbeds (those that had not yet been paved) were all invasive nonnative spices, especially the bamboo, which is quite a pest plant hereabouts.

Well done for making more people aware of not just the problem this plant is causing for places along railway lines but also any waste ground or area that it not used that much. We keep being told to 'buy' Buddleia for our gardens because Butterflies love it - hence its nickname 'Butterfly Bush', but there are loads of other non invasive plants you can buy for your garden to attract Butterflies. Another plant that is invasive, but not quite on the scale of Buddleia (though Butterflies love it too) is Lilac. I have two Lilac bushes in my back garden, and tbh they're pretty invasive. They keep sprouting up new shoots all the time, and it's a real struggle trying to control it. My advice to any keen gardener: DON'T BUY EITHER BUDDLEIA OR LILAC FOR YOUR GARDEN AS YOU WILL REGRET IT PRETTY QUICKLY. There are many other plants that Butterflies love, but which are not invasive. Buy them instead.

Doing a quick net search, breeders have managed to produce sterile (well, 98% sterile) varieties, so if garden centres were encouraged to predominantly stock these, and in the meantime, gardeners encouraged to remove flower heads immediately after flowering, that aspect of the problem would be reduced. Trackside, get busy with herbicides. If the workers wear protective gear, risks of exposure to the herbicide are reduced, and if they spray directly on the plants, the drift elsewhere can be reduced. Apparently, often the most dangerous part of a herbicide formula (and often the bit responsible for all the dire warnings about toxicity to wildlife) isn't the herbicide itself but the surfactants added to help the active ingredient get inside the plant and encourage dessication.

Nice looking plant. BR should introduce it to every station!

I have heard that The RHS want Buddleia to be a notifiable weed.

Thank you for bringing this issue to the attention of KZfaq viewers. Network Rail is determined to camouflage the rail network in this dreadful eye sore. Instead of coming out with ambiguous statements and promises they should carry out the basic tasks of cutting back overgrown vegetation, treating weeds and STOP NEGLECTING THE LINE SIDE!!

I live in a dry area in California where Buddleia's fairly popular as an ornamental, but we have to irrigate to get it to do anything, and it pretty much dies back to nothing in the Winter. Would not have guessed that it could be this invasive in a wetter climate!

Wow, obviously I’m aware of the budleja but I didn’t know it was such a menace. I wouldn’t want to be the one that tells gardeners that their favoured bedding plant is nothing more than a weed. It’d be Garden trowels at dawn! 😂

These bushes really are invasive. The best example near me is the Severn Beach Line around St Andrews Road, where it considers it a home despite the 166s, 165s (sometimes 150s and 158s) smacking them hard.

Wonderful job of conveying your message.

Great video!

Interesting! We have a Butterfly Bush like these in our front yard here in the US and never knew it was a problem in other parts of the world. On the other hand, Kudzu vines are one of the worse invasive plants we deal with over here especially in the southeast states. It was introduced as a means of erosion control and quickly got out of hand. I've seen entire railroad cars overgrown with it if they're left standing still for too long.

Many years ago, I trimmed trees for the city of Colorado Springs. The plague we fought with was the Chinese Elm... To us it was a “Weed” that we sought to destroy. (a daily battle) That shrub was EVERYWHERE!!!

The problem with privatization is tax payers money going to private companies who care more about share holders than doing their job propperly.

In Australia we have a similar problem on the verges of our urban railways with morning glory (an invasive vine with purple flowers).

I bought a house 18 months ago with two of these bushes in the garden. I'll have to make sure to chop them each year as they grow fast. They attract lots of butterflies in the summer months though which is good to see.

It's right up there with Brazilian Pepper trees and in the USA, Kudzu "the vine that ate the South"! Good Luck! Looks like you've got your hands full!

I worked for 17 years on the railway, 6 of those for a lineside vegetation contractor as a planner. The most serious issue at the time was not Buddleja but massive trees lining many routes in Kent in particular. Vegetation control had been neglected for many years due in part to successive cuts in funding by H.M.Treasury but also high level management decisions to direct resources to a crumbling infrastructure. Funding was improved in the early 2000s to address lineside trees and that was the focus for many years, certainly up to 2008/2009. The problem trees were mainly on the outer route and so any inner routes issues were largely ignored, just not economically efficient to address. As contractors we were always directed by our principal to the areas they felt needed attention. Delays during autumn due to leaf fall were seriously expensive to Network Rail and by dealing with tree growth they could mitigate the number of incidents and this was effective in the short and medium term, requiring continued maintenance. As of 2019 I was not aware of any dedicated contractor responsible for the 5 metre strip on any route. This was ditched by Network Rail around 2009 in favour of parcels of location specific contracts. So the gains made in the first half of the decade are being allowed to slip away.

I’ve been on the railway up and down the uk the past few years and I see this plant so much I called it the railway bush in my head, so nice to know it’s got a name!

Instead of proper continuous maintenance and patrol by lengthsmen, Network Rail waits until there is a big problem. It's poor management by desk-bound and distant managers who rarely put a foot outside. (My son does contracting work)

A beautiful weed...

Here in the desert SW (So. Nevada) we have a very similiar problem. This wild shrub is called oleander. Very hardy drought tolerant plant can find water like no other! Can crack PVC pipes in their quest.

No coincidence the obsession with killing insect friendly plants and the eco disaster of extinction in our butterflies and bees and other insects.. This is why i actively plant them in my garden, hopefully in time it will be an offence to kill off Buddleia, the same as it is with things like bluebells..

I remember how they explained in Life After People, how Atlanta would become overgrown with kudzu in no time. Seems like it will be the same in London, except in purple!

Thank-you Morthren, I've seen the railways spread many things from Birch trees to Giant Hogweed(Russian), Rhododendron and Japanese Knotweed, although this is not the only way these seeds spread. Are the old paraffin-fuelled 'Weed-burners' not approved by the HSE anymore? That solved the problem of both withered plants(after weed-killing) and their seeds, like we used to do. The railways are a mess in places with various invasive species now-a-days, I worry about the track-side/track-circuit wiring. Coincidentally, my 'nice' neighbour has just planted some buddleja across my front garden fence this year, eventually trying to block all the view and the light out from my house, forcing me to move, they hope. Now I can tell my local council of the increasing threat of this invasive pest around this little town and maligned neighbours planting the stuff. Cheers.

Lineside vegetation never used to be a problem. Embankments, cuttings and all lineside land used to be kept clear by gangs who took a pride in keeping their section tidy. Things like this never got the chance to take hold. Not so these days. No doubt it all comes down to money.

In the old days of the NY ONTATIO & WESTERN, the had an "oil train" which was a short train with an oil tank car. It would dispers hot #6 oil onto the center of the tracks, aswell as both sides through nozzles. It kept brush down, as we as people off the roadway....also helped prevent rot and deteriation of the ties......

Having being a preservationist and remembered spent many a time in clearing plenty of the Stuff once cut down just had to burn what was cut down

Never mind the Buddleia - what about that graffiti! I know which one I prefer.

It's like Kudzu in the U. S. South. It's everywhere. It was brought in from Asia as cheap and easy ground cover to grow.

People seem to have very inflated opinion on the effectiveness of Roundup. It doesn't kill everything - for example you can spray it on things like lantana until the cows come home, as soon as you stop it grows again.

Actually these plants are after you, they just too slow to catch you. Run Forest, run!

Good report!

The trouble with this plant is that the bees go potty for it so people use it to attract them! It's is very invasive but no were near as invasive as Japanese knotweed!

Well we have it growing all over the garden and it is fantastic to see all the butterflies on it. You don't need to buy any, just snap a woody piece off and shove the end into damp ground and it will usually root. You need to cut it back hard each year but it is wonderful for the wildlife.

Great vid. Cheers

Railways being destroyed by "the wrong kind of weed".

I have lived on a new development in Vietnam for 10 years and though all the building plots are sold very few are built on. I was one of the first to build and live in, those that are not have not and are not being farmed again, are being retaken over by mother nature. Block paving areas are full of growth with plants managing to get hold in just the joint of the paving, Trees have grown though the joint between the kerbs and asphalt road surface. Some partly built structures have also been taken over, it's just like a modern day version of Anchor Watt. (Spelling ?)

Butterflies like this plant! Also Bees!!

Hi, I work at Burton rail depot, 4 years ago it was completely covered in budd and birch, now its all but gone, 1.5 miles of sidings.

For the help of non-botanist an invasive species is one that can grow on land that can't support other plant life. Other examples are risebay willow herb and silver birch trees (both native to the UK and often found growing on abandoned track beds).

Very interesting, there's a disused railway station in partington, Trafford, Manchester, as little as ten years ago, you could access it , however now you would need a machete, but also in that ten years, we have had extreme rain, accelerated growth e.t.c

The video is actually a fine exposition about Natural Selection. The plants grow anywhere and are hard to kill. Mother Nature 5-star award.

To be honest here, Translink NIRailways does control all types of unwanted plant and weed issues as I’ve never seen this plant anywhere along the lines on the Northern Irish network.

For me its not a problem unless it effects a buildings structure, its good for wildlife and covers that horrible graffiti. i have 2 in my garden and it attracts some beautiful butterflies

Aaaaah! Now, I get it!!! They didn't mean more electrification when they said they wanted "greener railways".....😂

I can understand the overgrowth on sidings that are no longer used. But that growth on the brickwork of major structures like bridges and retaining walls is a real worry because it will doubtless cause damage and further deterioration to the structures that's potentially dangerous, not to mention expensive to repair. I notice NR has recently caused controversy by cutting down thousands of mature trees on the line side to combat "leaves on the line" problems yet they seem to almost ignore the buddleia issue which I would argue is potentially much more serious if not dealt with promptly.

I never knew of that. Very interesting video.

Thistle, the national flower of my native Scotland is considered a noxious invasive weed here in Minnesota. Every year they cut them down around my workplace, yet as is their nature they grow back. First step with any invasive species is to ban the sale, propagation, and distribution of the species. Then address where it is rampant worst first.

B of course attracts butterflies and they are useful but the B needs to be managed. Unfortunately, we have permitted it to spread without management. Maybe there is a non-toxic spray that can be applied to younger plants before they get a hold.

Here in the USA those bushes are called, "homeless shelter cover." Difficult to remove? ROUNDUP!

The Only use I found for buddleia is the dead wood makes for excellent kindling you can light it with a match no paper required

There was a rarely used but active freight line in sheffield completely taken over by this plant it was eventually put to rest

It's not just railway's, it's everywhere.

Typical British railways, lack of maintenance is the problem.

Your videos are good morthren!

Those darn seeds. They ride the trains without tickets!

The people living in some of the 'leafy' residential areas of California have recently been reaping the rewards of allowing vegetation to grow uncontrollably in urban areas. Fire is a serious danger where there is so much foliage and wood, so this needs to be dealt with and not left to run everywhere. All it needs is a very dry spell, even in the winter, for flames to spread through this stuff like, well, wildfire.

They will have to do something to curtail the growth of that stuff and most likely others similar to it else the railway network will begin to look like an equatorial jungle patch.

I agree with you , you only have to look at Chippenham station in Wiltshire. to see how it has taken over the end of the platforms., it is now so hard to get a good photo of the trains now. nothing is been done now by network rail to solve the problem

Answer..Total lack of maintenance over many years. Intresting thing is, I sent for a garden pack of 12 bushes from a garden centre. As soon as I saw one of them was Buddleja it went straight in the bin. It is a beautiful flower and attracts butterflies but it wans to take over the world.... Kill Kill Kill.....It's not gonna grow in my back yard.. lol... Just my opinion. No offence meant to those who want it.

In Romania most of the branches which were operated by the national railway company are now populated by buddleia and they look good because they cover every abandoned line from scrap people. If a siding is not longer used then the plant should be left alone, on the other hand it should be removed from platforms, car parks and mainlines.

Morthren, have you thought of sending a link of your video to Network Rail/RAIL magazine/or any other mag? They may find it interesting that members of the public are starting to see the difficulties that the rail network is having with this invasive plant.

Here in Western Canada it is Persian blackberries. I've seen blackberries litterally rip a fence to pieces in my parents back yard.

15-20 years ago I worked with Metronet, Southern Rail & Network Rail & it was already invasive then. Will it take a bridge collapsing under a train before something is done?!?

You should see the tees valley railway in North Yorkshire from Darlington to Saltburn as along the trackside and at the majority of railway stations on the line are littered with them.

I live literally right next to the beginning of the steyning line and our whole road is infected with it

Strongly suspect that the move to more environmentally friendly weed spraying solutions has brought us here \//\

The seed from this plant is distributed in the slipstream of passing trains. as was fire weed in the past. Only adequate maintenance will control the problem. A bigger risk is the height some of the lineside trees have become. A tree with a height greater then its distance from the running gauge is a possible disaster waiting to happen. It is noticeable on Swiss railways running through areas with trees that there is a cut profile in the tree height profile increasing away from the running gauge.

Wow, never knew of that, interesting video.

It's awful, we have tried (without success) to get rid of it at our house, but it refuses to die. All we can do is to keep cutting it back before it flowers to stop the spread of seeds.

not planting any budggeja next spring

Does anyone know of the UK's policy on invasive plants? Selling the plants sounds like no policy.

Thanks. Now I know where I can steal buddleja!

Very interesting. Have a nice day now.

Interesting. Here in the northern parts of the Continental US we have a similar problem with the Himalayan Blackberry, which also like this plant spreads at an alarming rate if it isn't killed right away. It takes over abandoned parking lots, railroad lines, and even abandoned houses, and it can grow almost anywhere. It sure is annoying to be trackside and have your leg ripped up by thorns!

Buddleia totally destroys brick and masonry structures if allowed to take hold. Microscopic roots insinuate their way into hairline cracks of the brick courses and then grow to 50 to 75mm diameter of strong woody stem. By this stage there is only one thing that can be done - complete demolition and rebuild.

This has to be dealt with. Firstly by banning the sale of it and then government funding for the removal of it. It will cost more to deal with the longer it is left to grow unchecked and cause more damage. There are a lot of disused railways that need to be protected for future use.

The Bees and others love it, the railways are the best wildlife corridors we have.

Buddleia is an interesting case. Yes, it is considered a an invasive species, however it does more ecological help than harm. Some people think that all alien species are bad for the environment, and that can be true, grey squirrels replace our native reds, many deer species cause harm to our forests and rhododendrons can be a plague on heath lands, (often you need to burn rhodo's to kill them). Buddleia is known as the butterfly bush for a reason, many species of butterflies and bees find this bush a food source during the summer months, both groups that are struggling to survive 21st century Britain. Do they cause harm to railways? I think that if there was a derailing or death because of these plants, this issue would be of a higher profile. I know how hard it is to remove a buddleia, and in the wrong place, it can be a pain. However, there is little proof that it causes enough economic damage to fund a large scale buddleia removal scheme. Personally, I think it adds more than a little colour to our monotone urban railway system. As long as the plant doesn't compromise public safety, it isn't economically or environmentally sound to do anything major about this issue. And to the gardeners who own buddleias in their gardens? Please remember to dead head them, or else you will end up with baby buddleias everywhere.