Innovation — railway structures

Drones trialled for the inspection of large railway structures The LNE&EM route Structures asset management team is trialling the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to inspect large structures in a safer and more cost efficient way. The vehicles, commonly known as drones, are being used to get a closer look at five arch viaducts on the route, including the Grade 1 listed, 28-span Royal Border Bridge in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland. Since 2017 the Structures team has been working alongside AECOM consulting engineers, Network Rail’s Air Operations team and Cyberhawk – a company that operates UAVs – to carry out the...