Network Rail has revealed its brand-new leaf-busting train, ‘Ctrl Alt Deleaf’.
The train, which was named by the public as part of a countrywide vote, will roll out this week from a depot at Effingham Junction in Surrey.
Tasked with keeping leaves off the line, the train will be joined by a fleet of similar vehicles in blasting leaf-mulch off around 1.12 million miles of track this autumn.
Lisa Angus, Network Rail’s Industry Weather Response Director, said:Our leaf-busting trains are the unsung heroes of the British autumn travelling the length and breadth of the country to keep the railway running.
The scale of the operation involved in keeping passengers moving through the autumn is monumental: Ctrl Alt Deleaf, and our fleet of leaf-busters trains, will cover over a million miles, as well as deploying fast-reaction teams and using more technology (such as drones) than ever before.
Our teams will be working non-stop to try and keep the tracks leaf-free this the autumn so that passenger and freight services can continue running safely and reliably.
The eye-catching train was officially unveiled at the Surrey depot this past Friday ahead of its launch across the country this week.
Other names considered for the unit included Leaf-Fall Weapon’, ‘Pulp Friction’, and ‘The Autumn Avenger’.
