Northern branches out with new GPS technology to successfully battle autumn leaf fall

Northern, which runs services through Ilkeston Railway Station, has successfully used new GPS tracking to make autumn conditions even safer by flagging leaf fall hotspots.

Fallen leaves can cause significant disruption to the network. Leaves stick to damp rails and passing trains compress them into a smooth, slippery layer, reducing trains’ grip. This can cause delays to services, which lead to disruption for passengers. 

But cutting-edge technology being used by Northern on its CAF fleet shows the train operator where there may be tricky conditions for drivers by tracking how the train is moving. 

It tracks any small slips or slides on a mapping system which can be shared with drivers to forewarn them of any tricky conditions or with Network Rail who clean the tracks. 

Rob Cummings, seasonal performance manager at Northern said: "Slippery rails are a massive problem for the rail industry, and we are playing a big part in resolving this issue. This is just one of the many cutting-edge ways Northern is battling autumn conditions to make sure our customers can get to their destinations on time, even when the weather is against us.” 

The train operator is also testing ‘rail head treatment technology’ which is attached to the undercarriage of passenger trains and could save the rail industry millions of pounds every year.