Network Rail, Dronecloud and RUAS, the drone arm of Railscape are working together on a project to create a centrally managed Drone Hub based at Network Rail’s Rail Operating Centre (ROC) in Birmingham, UK. Dronecloud aims to develop this capability into a fully managed service for use across all critical national infrastructure.
Drones can inspect the rail network and alert operators to trespass and other crimes, providing a time and cost saving over standard methods of inspection. Trials being carried out at the new hub recently helped Network Rail and the British Transport Police avoid closing Birmingham New Street station, resulting in a cost saving of several hundred thousand pounds.
Through a multi-step regulatory approval process, the company has collaborated with RUAS alongside drone manufacturers Velos Rotors and Evolve Dynamics to deliver the hub, which is designed to support 24/7 remote incident response and routine asset management anywhere within the Birmingham region.
While the system is being trialled, the drone has to be monitored visually by observers on its flights, although the operator remains at the control point. Should Civil Aviation Authority approval be granted – which Network Rail notes may come later this year – the drone will be allowed to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
The hub’s team is currently testing Dronecloud’s s integrated Flight and Safety Management System (FMS/SMS) and Uncrewed Traffic Management (UTM) platform. The next phase scheduled for spring 2025, sees Dronecloud, Network Rail and RUAS working closely with the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s new Atypical Air Environment (AAE) Test and Evaluation programme team to secure an AAE Operational Authorisation which will allow for the incremental increase in distance, initially up to 10km under beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) conditions, with subsequent phases planned to extend the range up to 30km and beyond.
In addition to this Birmingham trial, Network Rail is testing a system in Wolverhampton and on the private Severn Valley Railway with the support of Drone Major. The system, called Digital Tethering, is designed to enable BVLOS drone operations in areas with poor GPS/GNSS coverage.
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