From “leaves on the line” to “the wrong kind of snow”, the railway system in the UK has been a byword for feeble excuses about why the weather has affected trains running on time. Both were legitimate reasons in their time – new trains were much lighter than their predecessors, so their wheels unexpectedly spun round on the wet leaves rather than gained traction on the rails – and the wrong snow was in such tiny flakes that it passed through the protective grilles of diesel engines and shorted the electrics. Perhaps both events should have been foreseen.
To avoid such weather-related problems, and far worse in the future, Network Rail and the Met Office have signed a deal to speed up research into the extreme events of the present and the future. Currently, increasing heat causes rails to buckle and overhead power lines to sag, resulting in speed restrictions or total closure. Storms can blow down trees and flood lines but sometimes, fearing danger, services can be cancelled because of undue caution. Better expert advice should keep services running longer.
Perhaps with Britain’s complex geology the most difficult and currently unpredictable danger is landslips caused by heavy rain. This has already caused accidents and the research will be aimed at prediction and prevention to avoid it happening again.
