Network
Rail


has
announced
a
new
series
of
contracts
with
several
freight
operators
to
clear
leaves
from
the
railway
and
deal
with
icy
winter
weather.

Leaves
are
crushed
by
train
wheels
and
form
a
hard
coating
which
has
the
effect
of
black
ice
on
roads,
causing
flats
on
wheels
and
sometimes
damaging
motors.

The
new
contracts,
which
start
in
August
and
run
until
2030
at
least,
will
be
worth
around
£850
million
altogether.
They
will
also
cover
weed
killing
as
well
as
leaf-blasting,
ice
removal
and
snow
plough
trains.

The
contracts
include
the
introduction
of
six
rebuilt
Multi-Purpose
Vehicles.
They
use
new
water
jets
to
clean
leaf
mulch
from
rails
and
apply
adhesion
modifier
in
autumn,
which
is
a
mixture
of
sand,
metal
particles
and
water,
apply
anti-ice
fluid
in
winter
and
also
spray
herbicide.

GB
Railfreight
will
run
the
MPVs
in
the
north
of
the
country,
and
Balfour
Beatty
will
do
the
same
in
the
south,
and
more
MPVs
could
be
added
during
the
life
of
the
contracts.
Colas
and
GB
Railfreight
will
operate
locomotive-hauled
Rail
Head
Treatment
Trains,
equipped
with
water
jets
which
can
make
longer
runs
than
the
MPVs,
and
also
snow
and
ice
treatment
trains,
which
include
two
snow
blowers
as
well
as
snow
ploughs.

Altogether
Network
Rail
has
32
MPVs
and
29
RHTTs.

Network
Rail’s
supply
chain
delivery
director
Adam
Southern
said:
‘Running
trains
reliably
and
safely
in
autumn
and
winter
is
a
tough
challenge
and
we
rely
heavily
on
specialist
operators
and
equipment.
Leaves
on
the
line
get
crushed
under
train
wheels
and
can
cause
signals
to
fail
and
trains
to
slide.
Ice
on
live
rails
can
cause
trains
to
stall
and
we
all
know
the
disruption
that
heavy
snow
can
cause.

‘These
contracts
with
established
hauliers
see
our
fleet
of
treatment
trains
maintained
and
run
well
for
the
next
five
years
at
least,
providing
passengers
and
freight
customers
with
a
reliable
service
whatever
the
weather.’

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