Bolton Council is set to remove several large trees next to railway lines this weekend to improve safety.
It comes after two trees have fallen onto the railway since the end of March, causing serious delays on the network.
Five trees on land adjacent to Gilnow Road playing field will be removed after Network Rail asked the council to assess the dangers posed by trees alongside the rails.
Overhead electric lines for the railway, plus the large size of the trees, mean that the council is having to bring in specialist machinery for the job and several other trees have already been removed to make space for it.
The work is being done between 11:30pm Saturday night and 6am Sunday morning to coincide with a track closure planned by Network Rail and the council.
Noise and disruption will be kept to a minimum.
Bolton Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change, Environment and Regulatory Services, Cllr Robert Morrisey, said:
“We’re always reticent to fell trees as we know that people often feel the loss keenly.
“Unfortunately, sometimes the need for safety makes it unavoidable and we cannot risk more trees falling onto train lines, as the result could be catastrophic.
“The important thing is that Network Rail and Bolton Council continue to work closely together to ensure people’s safety.”