Stories

Leaf-busting trains prepare for autumn

Oct 1, 2020

With temperatures dropping and the nights drawing in, we're using a dedicated fleet to tackle leaves on the line. Thousands...

Just Like Me: Q and A with pilot Rikke Carmichael

Apr 6, 2020

Rikke Carmichael started flying planes aged just 15. Today, she heads our air operations team, helping us keep millions of...

More stories from around our network

IWD: all-female team in first for track inspection

Mar 13, 2020

Our International Women’s Day celebrations continued with a first for Network Rail – an all-female-run shift using cutting-edge track inspection technology. On the evening of March 12, a team comprising women used Plain Line Pattern...

What’s the milling train and how will it help us save £3.5bn?

Feb 5, 2020

We’re aiming to save £3.5bn by 2024 by maximising value and working more efficiently. The rail milling train, which we use for essential track maintenance, is part of that effort, which we hope will lead...

Five things you didn’t know about our winter fleet

Dec 16, 2019

It takes a special fleet to keep passenger trains moving in snow and ice. Our seasonal track treatment vehicles and machines are ready at depots across Britain for deployment where needed. Here are five things you didn’t know...

Five things you didn’t know about our fleet

Nov 27, 2018

Our fleet of vehicles and machinery works hard all year round. It plays a crucial role in keeping the railway safe for passengers and freight operators, such as each autumn, when 61 specialist trains and vehicles...

Our leaf-busting operation

Oct 29, 2018

The autumn is the most challenging time of year for the railway, so we spend the rest of the year preparing for it at our maintenance depot. Millions of trees grow alongside the railway, dropping thousands...

Air operations: Network Rail and drones

Aug 1, 2018

Our air operations team has been busy developing our use of drones, or unmanned aerial systems, over the past six months. The addition to our air ops unit, which already includes our own helicopter, will bolster our capacity...

First high-speed milling train bolsters capacity

Jun 28, 2018

A high-speed milling train took to our railway for the first time this week, providing quadruple the capacity to treat rail head defects. The HSM-R-B rail milling train carried out its first shift, in Herne Bay,...

High Output: 25 years of innovation in renewals

May 25, 2018

Ballast cleaning has been a cornerstone of railway maintenance for 50 years, but the Kershaw machine’s 1993 outing marked a milestone in the story of railway renewals Today, ballast cleaning is a slick operation, part of...
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