• Autumn conditions mean heavier leaf fall by mid-October
• Annual performance at 91.1 per cent
• Daily rail clearing teams keep network open as part of £2.6m investment

New figures published today show that leaf fall so far this autumn is more than double what it was at the same point last year.

The figures show that 52 per cent of leaves have fallen already – compared to 24 per cent by this week in 2016.

The information was published as the latest ScotRail Alliance performance figures were released.

The ScotRail Alliance’s moving annual average – the rolling performance for the previous 12 months – now stands at 91.1 per cent. This means 91.1 per cent of trains arrived within five minutes of their scheduled time.

This remains above the UK-wide performance for the previous 12 months, which stands at 88.4 per cent.

The ScotRail Alliance’s performance for the four weeks to 14 October 2017 was 88.3 per cent.

Leaves on the line mean drivers must brake and accelerate more slowly than normal, which causes delays and disruption. Other factors impacting performance in recent weeks include four incidents of cable theft or vandalism, a fault with overhead wires, and an empty third party locomotive mistakenly passing a red signal, resulting in all signals on that line turning red. This meant all trains on that line were stopped until Integrated Control could establish why this happened and resume safe operations.

The ScotRail Alliance is investing £2.6million to keep the trains moving during the autumn – including 11 leaf fall teams and a fleet of seven specialist leaf-busting trains.

ScotRail Alliance Infrastructure Director David Dickson said:

“Our investment and efforts to keep our network open in autumn are paying off. We understand just how important it is to run a punctual, reliable service for our customers. That’s why we are investing £2.6million to keep people moving during the autumn.

“While often scoffed at as an ‘excuse’ for delays, leaves on the line are a big problem for the railway as they make rails dangerously slippy. We’re tackling the difficult conditions created by leaf fall every day just now.

“This has been a challenging few weeks, but we are doing everything we can to address any problems that arise quickly, to take preventative action wherever possible and make sure that our customers are given good quality information. It’s all part of our plan to build the best railway Scotland has ever had.”

Picture caption – One of seven Railhead Treatment Trains in action at Stirling.

The ScotRail Alliance will invest millions of pounds to keep people moving during autumn, as it undertakes a major push to deal with the very real safety risks caused by leaves on the line.

With much of Scotland’s railway lined by trees, a common cause of disruption during autumn is leaves falling on the line. A build-up of leaves results in a slippery layer forming on the tracks.

This can be dangerous, causing trains to skid and overshoot signals and platforms – potentially putting passengers and staff in danger.

As a result, drivers must accelerate and brake gently. This causes services to go slower than normal and can result in disruption for customers.

Leaf debris can also interfere with the signalling systems, making it difficult to track trains on the network.

Led by Network Rail, from the middle of October the autumn campaign will include:
• £2.6million invested in clearing the tracks
• 11 leaf fall teams, totalling 30 staff based at locations across Scotland including in Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Tayside, the Borders and Fife
• A fleet of seven specialist treatment trains designed to clear leaf debris and spray lines with a glue-like coating to help train wheels grip the tracks
• Treatment trains covering an average of 1,500 miles a day
• Up to 7,200 staff hours dedicated to clearing the line
• A colour-coded warning system on Twitter each day, advising customers of any expected disruptions caused by the weather.

David Dickson, infrastructure director for the ScotRail Alliance, said:

“We are working hard to build the best railway Scotland has ever had, and part of that is keeping people moving during autumn when the weather can create major safety risks.

“We know few things annoy customers more than when their train is delayed because of leaves on the line. People are always a bit sceptical, but the reality is that leaves on the line can be dangerous and lead to disruption.

“The ScotRail Alliance is investing millions of pounds and pulling out all the stops to tackle this problem over the coming months.”