Northern prepares for battle against leaves on the line

Whilst much of the UK currently basks in the summer sunshine, Northern is preparing to overcome the disruption caused every autumn by ‘leaves on the line’.

To this end, the rail operator has installed a range of technologies onto its rolling stock.

Technologies deployed by Northern include Water-Trak technology, Wheel Slide Prevention (WSP), and Double Variable Rate Sanders (DVRS).

Water-Trak technology, equipment that sprays water onto the track to simulate heavy rain conditions to help wheels from slipping, has been fitted to all 16 of the Class 170 trains in the Northern fleet

WSP, a technology that prevents wheels from ‘locking’ while the train is moving - a scenario that creates flat spots on a round wheel as carriages slide along the track - has been installed on all Class 150 and Class 156 trains in service.

DVRS, which deploys up to three times the quantity of sand at a higher speed than previous versions, has been fitted to all 34 of Northern’s Class 323 trains.

With these units deployed across the network, Northern said it is confident that disruption caused by leaf-fall will be kept to a minimum.

In a statement, Rob Cummings, seasonal performance improvement manager, said: “Fallen leaves used to cause significant disruption across the network – but having tried a number of methods in recent years and by fine-tuning our approach – we have been able to cut that right down.

"To be 'battle ready' three months ahead of schedule is a real testament to the team that has worked so hard to ensure our fleet is ready for whatever nature throws at it."

Leaf-fall disruption is caused by leaves sticking to damp rails and passing trains compressing them into a smooth, slippery layer, which reduces the trains’ grip.

As recently as 2018, Northern had to take 306 trains out of service for repairs to carriage wheels caused by ‘wheel-slide’ on slippery rails. That figure was down to 14 in 2023.

The reduction in the amount of time required to repair carriage wheels has meant Northern can offer its services to other train operators.

Northern’s measures to prevent disruption caused by leaf-fall are supported by Network Rail’s railhead treatment trains (RHTTs) but there are a limited number of those available and routes are  treated once a day, six days of the week.