The railways around Romford are going to see a trial of drones to monitor the railway for trespass incidents and to identify infrastructure issues early.

GBR Anglia will start the trials of a new BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) drone technology later this summer and will allow Network Rail teams to access live aerial coverage up to 400 metres from Romford Rail Operating Centre, providing faster access to information compared with standard drone systems and reducing the need for staff to enter higher-risk areas.

The beyond visual line of sight trial has been approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority and forms part of the ongoing work by Network Rail, c2c and Greater Anglia as Anglia’s integrated railway.

Following sixteen months of development work, these BVLOS drones will be operated on Network Rail’s behalf by Heliguy.

The drones are also fitted with high-resolution thermal imaging cameras, which enable early identification of wear or damage across track, drainage, structures, and lineside equipment before it develops into faults. The long-term aim is to expand BVLOS drone operations across strategic locations in Anglia, with flights extending up to 4 kilometres.

Richard Barke, route crime and security manager for Network Rail’s Anglia route, said: “Trespass, vandalism and cable theft are some of the biggest causes of delay for passengers across the East of England.

“The learning from Romford will help us understand how this technology could support faster and more effective incident response across the Anglia route in the future.

“That means better coordination between route crime teams, operations and response teams, so we can deal with incidents more quickly and keep disruption to a minimum for passengers.”