Helping Network Rail detect lineside vegetation to reduce the cost of maintenance

Customer

Network Rail, the owner and manager of most of Britain’s railway infrastructure.

Problem

Assessing rail infrastructure including platforms, signals and tunnels are critical for passenger safety. With over 20,000 miles of rail, it’s time-intensive and costly. Network Rail sought analytics to understand potential network disruption and optimise maintenance schedules.

Solution

We built a lineside vegetation encroachment detection tool using geospatial analytics including video footage, 3D reconstruction and distance measurements. The model identifies structures like platforms, signals, tunnels and vegetation, measures track geometry and precise location, and uses these inputs to evaluate whether there is sufficient clearance.

Impact

The project supported the Digital Railway transformation programme, identifies foliage with 95% accuracy, and significantly reduces the cost of unnecessary maintenance.