As a solution to damage caused by recent extreme weather conditions, Finnish Railways (VR) would like to cut trees that grow closer than 30 metres from railway tracks.

Both Finnish Railways (VR) and the Finnish Transport Agency would like to cut trees along railway tracks to avoid further storm damage, regional daily Turun Sanomat and newspaper syndicate Väli-Suomen sanomalehdet reported on Tuesday.

The recent storms and extreme weather conditions have caused damage to railroad networks across Finland. According to Ossi Niemimuukko, director-general of the Finnish Transport Agency, said he believed cutting trees would significantly reduce the amount on problems for rail traffic.

However, the proposed measure is hindered by the fact that the majority of forests that lie by the side of train tracks are on private property. The government only owns a fraction of the areas in question and would need to negotiate with tens of thousands of landowners.

STT
LEHTIKUVA