Leaves on the line? Meet man responsible for keeping rails clear

Drivers do have a few gadgets at their disposal to make sure journeys can be completed.

“The driver can report it to the signaller and they have options to clean the rail,” he says.

“One of those is Citrusol, which is lemon juice or orange juice mixed with water.

“Or they can apply sand, which dries it up and adds friction to break up the leaves like sandpaper.”

It also affects how they drive – with Rob recommending “defensive driving”.

“Drivers must pull away more slowly and brake earlier for stations and signals to make sure they stop in time.

“This can lead to longer journey times and delays.”

Despite autumn being his focus at the moment, Rob doesn’t get the rest of the year off.

In summer he manages high temperatures, and in winter preventing journeys being affected by snow.

Last year Northern experienced 100 delay minutes due to heat, but 5,000 due to floods and fallen trees.

“Other seasonal issues are less predictable,” he says.

“For instance in summer, where rail is exposed to direct sunlight it expands.

“But this last summer was so bad that our summer review finished two hours early because there were so few problems.”

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