Autumn Leaf Fall - Press Releases - News - Translink
NIR Tackles Autumn Leaf Fall
29th September 2008:
NI Railways are ready and prepared for autumn weather conditions that can cause delays across the network during the season.
Measures used by NIR resulted in significant improvements in performance during the key leaf period- fall last year. Punctuality performance over the season has risen by an impressive 35% over two years.
Every autumn a combination of atmospheric and damp conditions leads to low adhesion between the wheel and the railhead- this means leaves on the line have a similar effect as black ice on roads.
NIR have combined a variety of counteractive tools to help combat this annual problem. Sandite rail adhesive is used to act as grit on the rail. State of the art training and simulators, regular met office forecasting and modern wheel- slip protection systems are all used.
A specially converted train carrying high- pressure water jets will also be deployed to wash down and remove compressed leaves from the line.
This year NIR have extended the areas to which the sandite rail gel is applied and have identified new areas which could potentially be black spots.
NIR General Manager of Rail Services Mal McGreevy said ‘Autumn weather conditions can cause major disruption and delay to rail services. We have worked and planned rigorously to ensure we minimise the effects of the autumn leaf fall. Our focus is to achieve reliability for our customers during the autumn period. Throughout the season we will keep passengers fully informed on service provision.’
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