Northern: Leaves on the line blasted in trains test

Water technology fitted underneath Northern passenger trains blasts disruptive fallen leaves from the track, Northern said

Trains fitted with water jets are being tested to deal with the autumnal problem of leaves on railway lines.

Northern has fitted the technology, which tackles slippery rails by blasting water onto them, to passenger trains.

It will be used on five trains operating between Leeds, Harrogate and York.

Leaves cause major disruption every autumn when they stick to damp rails and are flattened by train wheels.

A spokesperson for Northern said the operator had partnered with engineers to trial Rail Head Treatment Technology (RHTT), which is attached to the undercarriage of passenger trains to clean rails. and makes the conditions better for braking.

By Autumn 2024 a further 11 trains will have the new system fitted, a spokesperson said

The spokesperson said RHTT was currently used on special line cleaning trains. However, there are only a limited number of those trains available, so they can't treat the whole of the network.

Fallen leaves can cause "significant disruption" to the network, which causes "delays to services and disruption for passengers", the spokesperson added.

Rob Cummings, Northern's seasonal improvement manager, said: "We're pleased to be working with Water-Trak to try and provide a better, more reliable service in tricky autumn conditions.

"This is the next stage of this trial which we hope will take us closer to our goal. By next autumn a further 11 trains will have the new system fitted."

John Cooke, co-founder at Water-Trak, said: "Slippery rails are a massive problem for the rail industry, and we hope to play a big part in resolving this issue.

"We're hoping that by working with Northern we can make autumn disruption a thing of the past."