Northern have announced a pilot for new technology that blasts dry ice to clear fallen leaves from train tracks this autumn.
The cryogenic cleaning equipment, Cryogrip, will be fitted to a train running between Bishop Auckland and North Road station in Darlington to help clear the line.
The train will not carry passengers and will run along the line between regular timetabled services.
Cryogrip, which has been developed by engineers from the University of Sheffield, clears the track by firing dry ice pellets at the railhead in a stream of air at supersonic speed.
Any remaining leaves are then frozen and blasted aside as the dry ice pellets return to gas.
Thus far, the technology has been tested on the Wensleydale Railway heritage line, with this latest test marking the first time the technology will be used on a Northern line.
Rob Cummings, Northern’s Seasonal Performance Improvement Manager, said:Some people like to make jokes about wet leaves on the line. But when you have steel wheels running on a steel rail, any slippery substance that affects the grip is a big problem.
There is a comprehensive plan in place to help our train crews deal with this, which includes forecasting, extensive mapping, railhead treatment trains and sanders.
We are also keen to find out whether the cryogenic cleaning equipment is another effective tool which can be used on other parts of our network.
Currently, Northern works with Network Rail to run railhead treatment trains along its lines six days a week. This method of track clearing involves the blasting of leaf mulch from the tracks before applying a gel consisting of sand and steel grains to avoid slippage.
