The Severn Beach railway line is under threat due to rising sea levels
With the Severn Beach rail line in jeopardy, the council's chairman is calling on the government to help fund flood protection for the rail line, which is threatened by rising sea levels.
In a letter to Transport Minister Mark Harper, South Gloucestershire Council leader Claire Young said that defenses are needed along the Severn Beach line due to the risk of flooding, the BBC reports.
The work is expected to cost £12 million. According to her, the investment will "protect communities, businesses, and nature."
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the railway, which is critical national infrastructure, is used to transport more than 1,000 tons of waste daily to the Suez Waste to Energy incinerator in Avonmouth.
The waste is then incinerated, and the heat is used to generate electricity.
Large-scale flood protection work is already underway in the area, known as the Avonmouth and Severnside Flood Protection and Environment Project. This includes the construction of 1.5 kilometers of defenses on the land side of the railway.
However, the Department for Transport (DfT) has decided not to fund flood protection works on the sea side of the railway.
The authorities are urged to reconsider their decision.
As TravelWisereported earlier, the 10 largest countries in the world without trains were named.