73 Bacterial composition of settled dust samples across UK railway stations

Abstract 1.6 billion journeys were made across the UK rail network between 2023 and 2024. As such, characterising the pollution and presence of bioaerosols at railway stations across the UK is essential to be able to improve air quality for millions of passengers using the rail network. Recently published work determined the metal and fungal composition from railway stations across the UK using settled dust samples. Station location, layout and season independently contributed to urban fungal richness, diversity, and composition. For the metal analysis, iron, zinc and copper were consistently detected. To better characterise the UK stations, this study has used the same dust samples to determine the bacterial diversity and identify the bacterial composition. DNA was extracted from the dust samples and sequenced using the 16S metagenomics kit as part of the ion torrent system. Results may identify differences within regions and between the layouts of railway stations. It is hoped these results can be correlated with the existing metal and fungal analysis to inform strategies to improve air quality in urban public spaces proving beneficial for both workers and passengers travelling across the rail network.