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Friday 22 Oct 2004

MEDIA INVITATION: JOIN THE ‘A’ TEAM TO FIGHT LEAVES ON THE LINE

Region & Route:

National

Date:                           Thursday 28 October 2004 Time/location:           6-11am/Salisbury Railway Station                           Interviewee/Filming:  Weather Strategy Co-ordinator and our ‘A’                                     Team demonstrate our leaf-busting train (MPV) and hand-held sanding/scrubbing equipment Leaves on the line are a big challenge for railways all over the world, but while you are tucked up in bed, Network Rail’s Adhesions Teams are tackling the problem to get you to work on time. There are 79 teams all over the country on-call 24/7 responding to train drivers’ reports of the ‘black ice’ of the rail industry and targeting hot-spot locations.   When leaves are crushed, they form a hard Teflon-like coating on the railhead that causes train wheels to slip and slide.  This results in train delays and can also damage the track. Using the latest satellite navigation technology to reach the hot-spot as possible, these 2-man crews use railhead scrubbers, sand sticks and Natrusolve, which dissolves the leaf mulch to tackle the dangerous substance.  These teams are part of a wider picture in tackling autumn, which costs the industry £50 million a year.  Other methods used to tackle the challenge are 32 Multi Purpose Vehicles that travel around the network day and night, spraying a high-powered water jet on the rails to remove the leaves and then spreading Sandite over the rail to increase adhesion. There is also a fleet of a further 20 engineering trains that use water and Sandite plus detailed and frequent specific leaf fall weather requests from the Met Office. All these measures, the planning of which started 10 months ago are designed to mitigate the effect of leaf fall.  We’ll never beat Mother Nature but we’re as prepared as we possibly can be. For more information please contact Sarah Roberts in the Network Rail press office on 0207 557 8840