Media centre

Monday 16 Oct 2006

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

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New techniques, new and better equipment and more people working around the clock than ever before will help keep rail passengers on the move this autumn.

Peter Strachan, Network Rail Route Director, said: “Autumn and falling leaves are a challenge for railways the world over. The leaves form 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 the ‘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 technology. Network Rail unveiled its arsenal for the battle with falling leaves, including: · A 24-hour control centre in Birmingham manned by a team dedicated to tackling autumn. · Two water-jetting trains shooting out water at an equivalent pressure of 1,000/bar (up to 1000 faster than the water coming out of your tap) will be getting rid of ‘leaf mulch’ across the West Midlands. · A ‘super soaker’ train in action on the West Coast Mainline between Willesden and Rugby. The track will be blasted at 1,500/bar pressure whilst at 60 mph. This follows extensive testing throughout the summer. · The latest satellite navigation technology to reach hot-spots as soon as possible. Eight, two man ‘leaf busting’ crews based in Birmingham and Wolverhampton will be using rail head scrubbers, sand sticks and Natrusolve, which dissolves the leaf mulch. Mr Strachan concluded: “We work closely with train operators to mitigate autumn’s effects as far as possible and keep passengers moving.” Central Trains is recognised as an industry leader in dealing with leaf fall issues, giving its drivers specialist training to cope with the rail conditions, using driving simulators, installing anti-leaf sprayers on many of its trains, and briefing staff on particular problem areas. Tony Brown, Central Trains’ Director of West Midlands Services, said: “We’re working closely with Network Rail and other rail industry bodies to do everything we can to minimise the effect leaf fall has on our passengers, but just as in a car on a slippery surface, there will be times when trains have to slow down to stay safe. Our drivers are trained to operate trains safely in these conditions using a driving simulator and by trying out the conditions for real during specially arranged night time skid pan training sessions” From October 22 to 9 December, some Central Trains services will be timetabled to take up to five minutes longer – either leaving very slightly earlier or arriving very slightly later. There will also be some changes to the off-peak Lichfield, Redditch (Cross City Line) timetable. No connections to other services will be affected. Across the country, autumn costs the rail industry approximately £60 million a year, including: £10 million for vegetation management over 21,000 miles of track, £34 million for autumn train-borne operations, £5 million for ‘hot spot’ teams and other staff/operational costs as well as £10 million for damage to trains and track because of leaf fall. Weather and seasonal factors account for 10% of all delay minutes across the network in any one year