I read the news today, Oh boy 10 million trees on Network Rail’s route miles And though the trees were rather tall They had to count them all (Apologies to Lennon/McCartney)
Pan Up
Every blustery day brings a line blockage with a tree on the line or, worse, a train in a tree on the line. It also sees me shouting at the TV ‘what was that tree doing there anyway?’ This annoyance to passengers, and to my wife, should soon become less frequent following a monumental survey of all the trees that line the routes of the UK’s rail network.
Regular readers will know my view that all the adhesion researchers should be given a chainsaw, an orange vest and sent out lumberjacking. I have to admit that this cultural revolution is unlikely, but it is good to know Network Rail is tackling this massive problem that has been 60 years in the making.
Network Rail may not like chainsaws, but the company does love a computer model, and this one is a beauty. It is part of ORBIS (Offering Rail Better Information Services programme) and it has allegedly logged 100 attributes of the 10 million trees on or near rail routes. Airbus Industries was commissioned to do the survey with data analysis and the consultants use this to pro…
