Delays to train services caused by leaves on the line could finally become a thing of the past, thanks to new track-cleaning technology created by engineers at the University of Sheffield.
The new rail-cleaning technique, developed by a team of researchers led by Professor Roger Lewis from Sheffield's Department of Mechanical Engineering, uses dry ice pellets in a stream of high-pressure air which first freeze the leaves. As the pellets turn back to gas they are blasted away from the railhead.
The method was first developed by the group in 2015 and now after testing the technology on railhead treatment trains over the past two years and on passenger trains in early 2020, the technique has proven to be significantly more effective at removing leaves from the line, preventing delays and improving braking distances for trains than current cleaning methods.
The Sheffield cleaning system is able to clean parts of the railway network where current methods...