'THESE TOXIC TRAINS ARE OUT OF LINE!' - Calls for air and noise pollution action at Marylebone station - too close to Blandford estate say campaigners

PUBLISHED: 21 MAY 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

PRESSURE is mounting for tough action to be taken against train companies who have been accused of creating a serious public health risk in Marylebone.

Emission readings taken by Westminster Council environmental health officers reveal toxic levels of pollution outside Marylebone Station are more than five times those deemed safe under the Air Quality Act.

This week hundreds of residents of the Blandford estate, which runs parallel to the station, signed a petition demanding curbs be placed on the worst-offending polluters.

The station is the fastest-growing in the ­capital – adding almost five million passengers in 2006 – and still uses ageing diesel-powered locomotives that paint the skies black with smoke.

A new line to Wrexham in North Wales has increased the number of trains coming in and out of the station and a super-fast rail link to Oxford is planned for 2013.

John Poynton, chairman of the Blandford Estate Residents Association, said: “This is a long-running problem here, but there’s no doubt it has been made worse by the new Wrexham line. I have to keep my windows closed the whole time, and often feel nauseous  when outside. The point of the petition is to see if we can get concrete improvements because it’s not an overstatement to say it is becoming a public health issue.”

Marylebone already suffers from choking pollution levels due to the congested Marylebone Road.

Carl Upsall, chairman of the Marylebone Association, said: “The air quality on the Marylebone Road is a constant cause for concern, and for that reason we have asked Dr David Green of King’s College Environmental Research Unit to address our AGM. The fumes from the railway station compound the problem, but the railway companies seem to be able to operate with disregard for the problem they cause.”

Unlike road vehicles, train operators do not have to meet strict pollution rules and diesel locomotives more than 10 years old are exempt from EU regulations. 

London Assembly member Murad Qureshi has promised to raise the issue with Mayor Boris Johnson and tackle the station manager head on over how to force operators to update their stock of trains.

He said: “Marylebone Station is a success of public transport but it is clear there is an issue here because of its growth. 

“I will speak to the mayor about this and promise to talk to the station manager about what can be done about the diesel locomotives.”

Despite talk of handing the station manager powers to cut sitting times with the engine running to 10 minutes on the platform, little has changed and residents fear the problem will escalate with the opening of a new £250million service to Oxford.

Catherine Morgan, who has lived on the estate for eight years, said: “Marylebone Station is getting busier and busier, and it uses a lot of old locomotives which isn’t really on in this day and age. 

“We really need something to change because this has been going on too long.”

Among the improvements residents would like to see are the installation of a giant screen to buffer the noise and fumes, and the introduction of electric lines across the station. 

A spokeswoman for Chiltern Railways, the company that manages the station, said: “We work closely with local residents and have addressed concerns received about the level of noise from the Wrexham and Shropshire trains.

“We have made changes so that they do not use platforms five and six, and will continue to attend local residents meetings.” 

Station owners Network Rail have ruled out the screen, insisting that noise is unavoidable for people living on the doorsteps of stations.

A spokesman said: “We do what we can to keep noise down in residential areas, but by their very nature, stations and tracks are noisy places.”

Leith Penny, the council’s strategic director for city management, said: “We will be pressing Network Rail in the strongest terms possible to take fully onboard the concerns of local people about the issue of noise caused by their rolling stock, and we will look jointly with them at what practical measures can be taken to tackle this problem on behalf of residents.”