We鈥檙e using drones to deter people from going on the tracks 鈥� and prevent one of the biggest causes of delays to your journeys.
Deterring trespass
Trespassing is illegal and extremely dangerous. It鈥檚 also highly disruptive to your journeys. There are about 19,000 incidents involving people going on the tracks each year. This causes 750,000 minutes of train delays for passengers and 拢75m in direct costs to the taxpayer.
That鈥檚 why we鈥檝e been working with to trial using drones as a deterrent against trespassers and vandalism on the East Midlands route 鈥� north of London St Pancras International.
The drones fly across pre-programmed routes where their high-definition cameras can detect suspicious behaviour. The cameras capture evidence to send back to our control centre in Derby 鈥� with precise location data 鈥� for further investigation.
The drones are loud and highly visible, acting as an overt deterrent to discourage people from going on our railway.
We鈥檝e also strategically timed the flights to take place when our research shows that this behaviour is more likely. The drones are equipped with state-of-the-art optics including low-light capability and thermal imaging 鈥� allowing them to survey and detect incidents at night as well.
Making our railway safer in the long term
We鈥檙e also using the drones to further analyse the behaviour of trespassers and to detect vulnerabilities in our railway boundaries. The insight will feed into our long-term, targeted action to reduce disruption and improve safety across the railway.
Flights take place across the East Midlands route, including at London St Pancras International station. The drones are based at Derby, Bedford and Cricklewood in North London. We鈥檒l add a fourth drone at Kettering in Northamptonshire this month. This will help bolster the numbers ahead of the summer holidays when the number of incidents typically rockets.
Andy Wade, a security and crime manager at 51爆料, said: 鈥淭he continued and increased deployment of drone technology marks a significant advancement in our intelligence-led approach to protecting the railway network.
鈥淲orking in close partnership with British Transport Police, we remain committed to ensuring the safety and security of our passengers, staff, and infrastructure.鈥�
Helping us maintain our infrastructure
Further south, we鈥檝e also been given the green light to fly drones regularly at London St Pancras International following a successful trial.
We鈥檒l use drones to helps us remotely monitor the station鈥檚 vast roof and surrounding railway. The information gathered from these surveillances will help our engineers spot potential issues and resolve them before they become problems.
It鈥檚 all part of a wider effort to keep the station running smoothly and safely 鈥� and minimising disruptions to your journey.
The drones allow our maintenance teams to inspect hard-to-reach areas without needing scaffolding or track closures. This further helps us reduce disruption to your journeys and respond to issues faster.
Plus, the drone flights help keep our staff safer with fewer inspections needed on foot.
We hope to roll out similar drone operations at more of Britain鈥檚 biggest railway stations if the trial continues successfully.
So next time you鈥檙e travelling through the East Midlands, look up. You may spot the future of railway safety in action.
