Bat traffic lights to be installed in train tunnel

Bat traffic lights are being put in a tunnel to stop trains killing the rodents.

Ecologists hope they will learn to get out of the way when the lights warn of an approaching train.

If the month-long trial, a first in the UK, is successful, it will speed up travel times for commuters and increase the number of trains using the tunnel.

It will be tested by researchers who will flash the lights on and off over four nights and monitor how the bats react.

Trial leader Geoff ­Billington said: “We hope they will learn to associate the two things.”

Chiltern Railways is backing the plan, set up under the A40 Wolvercote roundabout in Oxford.
A spokesman said: “This is a tried and tested ­technique on roads and we want to see if it is applicable to the railways.”

A similar system has been used in North Wales to encourage bats to stay away from traffic.

by Steve Myall, Daily Mirror
Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/animal-magic/2011/08/16/bat-traffic-lights-to-be-installed-in-train-tunnel-115875-23347676/#ixzz1WhU04iFc