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Thursday 29 Oct 2026

Leaf-busting trains to clear more than 90,000 miles of railway this autumn – enough to circle the world three-and-a-half times

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Great Western

| Wales & Western

As temperatures drop, the evenings draw in and millions of leaves fall across the Great Western route, Network Rail’s specialist ‘leaf-busting’ trains are hard at work tackling one of the railway’s biggest seasonal challenges.

Leaves on the line might sound harmless, but they can cause serious problems for the railway. When damp leaves fall onto the tracks and are crushed by passing trains, they form a thin, slippery layer on the rails, much like black ice on a road. This reduces the grip between a train’s wheels and the rail, meaning drivers need to brake earlier when approaching stations and signals and accelerate more gently to avoid wheel spin. These precautions keep trains moving safely, but can add time to journeys and lead to delays. A build-up of leaf mulch can also interfere with train detection equipment used by the signalling system.

This is where the four leaf-busting trains on the Great Western route, known as rail head treatment trains (RHTTs), come in. They use high-pressure water jets to blast slippery leaf mulch from the rails before applying a special treatment to improve grip, helping passengers get to where they need to be safely and reliably.

These trains will operate from the start of October through to mid-December, clocking up around 90,100 miles in total – enough to circle the world just over three and a half times.

This year, additional routes have been incorporated into the treatment plan for the first time, including the Okehampton and Barnstaple branch lines in Devon, which will be treated twice a week. Previously, difficult-to-reach locations were treated manually by mobile operations managers who applied sand to the rails by hand.

Heavy rain, strong winds and cooler temperatures can also affect the railway, so Network Rail and train operators spend months preparing to minimise disruption and keep passengers moving safely and reliably throughout autumn.

In addition to the rail head treatment trains, Great Western route has been preparing for the challenges of autumn in other ways, including:

• Specialist weather forecasting, supported by meteorologists at MetDesk. This provides an early indication of potential weather-related risks, which in turn enables better preparation and management of any impacts to the railway.
• Alongside weather forecasts, Great Western route’s Control teams receive leaf-fall forecasts twice a day during the autumn, showing rail-adhesion conditions, the percentage of leaves remaining on trees, and the percentage of leaves on the ground. This provides a clearer picture of how leaf fall is progressing and where the risk of contamination is greatest, allowing resources to be targeted where they’re needed most.
• Preventative measures, including vegetation management along the Barnstaple and Okehampton lines to manage leaf-fall contamination and reduce the risk of trees and branches falling onto the railway during storms.
• Drainage improvements at locations that have previously been vulnerable to flooding, including at Roche on the Newquay line and through Wivelscombe Tunnel between Saltash and St Germans. Drainage systems were cleared this summer in the Bristol area, and the wider resilience programme at Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire includes a number of measures to help reduce the risk of major flooding and disruption.
• Building on the successful trial of new monitoring technology designed to improve understanding of flood risks. At one location in Devon, sensors have been used to measure water movement at both the river surface and riverbed, helping engineers assess the risk of scour, where fast-flowing water can erode material around bridge foundations. The data supports computer modelling that can indicate whether a bridge may have been affected following severe weather. This can reduce the need for some manual inspections by divers and help lines reopen sooner. Previously, divers could only inspect structures once river levels and water velocity had reduced to safe levels, potentially extending the length of time the railway remained closed.

Jo Grew, Route Strategy Director for Network Rail’s Great Western route and GWR, said: “Autumn brings a range of challenges for the railway, and we prepare year-round to reduce their impact and keep passengers moving safely.

“Our rail head treatment trains will be out in force until mid-December, clocking up more than 90,000 miles as they work to keep the rails free from leaf-fall contamination.

“This year we’ve expanded the coverage of the RHTTs and introduced a new timetable to help us direct resources to the areas that need them most. We’re also trialling a new treatment product in Gloucester, which leaves a water-resistant layer on the rail and could reduce how frequently treatments need to be applied.

“It’s all part of the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to reduce the impact of autumn weather and keep passengers moving safely and reliably.”

To find out more about how we keep the railway running throughout the autumn, please visit: Leaves on the line - Network Rail