Media centre

Friday 27 Oct 2006

BIGGEST EVER CAMPAIGN UNVEILED FOR AUTUMN LEAF-FALL BATTLE (WESSEX)

Region & Route:

| Southern: Wessex

| Southern

New techniques, new and better equipment and more people working round the clock than ever before will help keep rail passengers across the South on the move this Autumn. Leaves on the line are no joking matter for the thousands of rail workers and millions of commuters who battle with the effect Autumn has on train services. Network Rail's Route Director David Pape said: “Autumn and falling leaves are a challenge for railways the world over. The leaves form a mulch on the rails, which is as slippery as ice on the roads. And the same precautions have to be taken that you take in your car, braking and accelerating slowly, which can lead to delays. “We do everything possible to prepare for Autumn – and everything possible to deal with the effects when it arrives. We invest in the best techniques and equipment and use ‘leaf-busting’ teams around the clock to keep the railways running. And we target these huge resources at the leaf-fall hotspots, which we can predict by using the latest satellite technology.” Network Rail is investing £1.8 million in the Southern region alone this year to tackle Autumn weather and has unveiled its arsenal for the annual battle with falling leaves in the region:

• A 24-hour control centre manned by a team dedicated to tackling autumn
• Six water-jetting trains shooting out water at an equivalent pressure of 1,000/bar (up to 1,000 times faster than the water coming out of your tap) will be getting rid of ‘leaf mulch’ across the South’s railway.  The trains also apply a solution of sand called Sandite to the rail which helps prevent train wheels from slipping.

·         21 offices around the region fitted-out with ‘leaf busting’ equipment and working to identify problem areas

• Five dedicated two-man ‘leaf busting’ teams will be using rail head scrubbers, sand sticks and Natrusolve, which dissolves the leaf mulch
• Traction gel (Sandite) applied to rails – at locations known to suffer from the effects of leaf fall.  We will be using 60 sandite applicators, 30 of which are new this year.
• The latest satellite navigation technology to reach hot-spots as soon as possible

·         Six rail head treatment trains in operation round the clock ·         230 leaf vacuum cleaners for use across the region ·         20 portable railhead scrubbers Mr Pape added: “We’re working closely with the train operators to mitigate Autumn’s effects as far as possible and keep passengers moving.”