I am obliged to respond to claims made by an unnamed resident in the article “Deforestation near Watford Junction ‘endangering passengers’” following last week’s trackside landslip at Watford tunnel.

This was a serious incident that was very upsetting for the train passengers and railway staff caught up in it.

An unnamed resident, however, claims Network Rail is now “endangering the lives of passengers and its employees” by removing vegetation along this section of railway. This is absolutely not the case.

Safety is Network Rail’s number one priority for passengers, our employees and those who live near the railway.

SEE MORE: Crashed train was travelling at 80mph before applying brakes.

A full incident investigation is under way but early indicators suggest sustained, torrential rainfall caused the slip.

We’ve been working at this location to protect the trackside bank for the last six months.

We have cut down trees and netted sections of bank. We will continue this work now that the landslip has been cleared.

Had we not previously cut down the trees on the slipped section of bank, those trees would have ended up being washed onto the track.

This could have caused a bigger obstacle for the oncoming train, and led to a potentially far more serious incident.

Whenever we make any decision on how we manage vegetation, we always consider the impact it has on both the railway and our lineside neighbours.

Mark Killick, Area Director, Network Rail