Neighbours living close to Emerson Park station claim that dozens of trees appear to have been earmarked for removal, with work starting last weekend.
It comes three years after Network Rail promised to pause work to take away “overgrown” trees on the same Upminster to Romford Overground line, recently named the Liberty line, after a backlash from local people.
Jen Taylor, who lives in Osborne Road, which runs parallel to the train tracks, said that she had not been notified that the works would be taking place.
“Over the weekend, we could see people up the tree and we could see that two trees had been felled to ground-level,” she said.
“The concerns are the impact on wildlife and habitats, as well as the aesthetics of it for us.
“If the trees have been there causing no problems to the railway, then they should be replaced so that in the long-term we maintain the greenery we have got along the line.
“It seems crazy to me in the current climate that they’re felling trees.”
Havering Green party co-ordinator Ruth Kettle-Frisby added that the works amounted to “woodland destruction” that “flies in the face of the care we expect to be afforded to our trees”.
Network Rail did not respond after being approached by Romford Recorder about the works.
However, in an email sent to concerned neighbours, one transport boss confirmed that “targeted, specific” work was taking place to remove trees “which pose a danger to the railway”.
They claimed that all of these trees have been identified as “dangerous, diseased or dead”.
“Because we are removing relatively few trees, the number of neighbours we informed on this occasion was likewise modest,” neighbours were told.
But Jodie Satterley, who lives in Gidea Park and has launched a petition against the works, said that Network Rail needed to be clearer about how trees were being identified as “dangerous”, and the exact numbers that will be felled.
“It’s so vague,” she explained. “How do they determine how a tree is dangerous? Can they trim it instead and how likely is it to actually fall on the track?
“We have had some really serious weather and high winds, and nothing has ever happened.
“Even if you think trees too close to the track are a danger, you have to balance this risk.”
Neighbours have now called on Network Rail to release the details of its environmental survey and to consult with the wider community before removing any more trees.
