As the cold mornings draw in and the leaves start to brown, Network Rail is preparing its 61 leaf-busting trains to keep passengers moving safely over autumn.

Network Rail and its train operating colleagues will be working flat out preparing specialist equipment to clear leaves off the line.

When leaves fall on to the tracks, they stick to damp rails, and passing trains compress them into a thin, black layer which can affect train braking and acceleration.

A total of 61 leaf-busting trains, which is made up of 29 Railhead Treatment Trains (RHTT) and 32 Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPV), travel the network, spraying the rails with a water jet to remove  – which move around the network, cleaning the top of the rail by spraying it with a water jet

Network Rail’s autumn treatment trains covered 1,418,169 miles in 2018 – the equivalent of travelling to the moon and back three times.

What did the officials say?

Nick King, network services director at Network Rail, said:

“Leaves on the line is a well-known issue on railways across the world. Our leaf-busting trains and highly-trained frontline teams will be working around the clock over the next few months to keep the tracks clear and rail services running.

“Even with these plans in place, on some particularly autumnal days it will be a challenge to operate the railway as punctually as we would want to. I would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding while our staff work to keep them moving safely and reliably this autumn.”

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