North West & Wales: Network Rail Air Operations
By Chris Anderson MCIRO
On 17 March 2025, the CIRO North West & Wales Area held a Network Rail Air Operations event, hosted by Chris Ashworth, National Aerial Survey Specialist within the Air Operations Team. The event was kindly hosted at the WSP office in Manchester.
The purpose of the event was to gain a better understanding of the day-to-day work carried out by the Air Operations Team and to explore what support they can offer Routes and Regions across the country. Based in Milton Keynes, the team currently operates wherever the work takes them, can survey up to 70 track miles in just one hour. Inspections are carried out both visually and thermally from approximately 1,000 feet above ground level— an impressive demonstration of how advanced the technology has become.
When faults or failures are identified, a Laser Range Finder( LRF) can pinpoint the issue with millimetre-level accuracy, allowing ground teams to respond quickly and precisely.
The types of surveys conducted include:
• Visual – Inspections of route crime, route proving, post-storm impacts, trespassing, and ad-hoc events.
• Thermal – Monitoring of point heating systems, AC overhead lines, DC third rail lines, E & P power transformers, and vegetation.
• Photographic – Aerial imaging for the‘ Routeview’ site, and coverage of major incidents including fires, landslips, derailments, stations, bridges, and viaducts. covering all parts of the United Kingdom.
The Air Operations Team primarily uses helicopters, but with advances in technology, drone operators are also part of the team. Drones are proving useful, although they are currently limited by the requirement for line-of-sight between the operator and the drone.
Both helicopters and drones are equipped with specialised cameras and sensors that monitor the condition of the railway infrastructure. These systems inspect assets to ensure equipment is fully operational and safe to use. Conducting inspections from the air enhances performance while maintaining safety— crucially, it eliminates the need for a line blockage, so there’ s no disruption to train services or on-track activities.
Chris explained that the resolution of the aerial camera equipment is so high that the team
Any faults identified are reported directly to the relevant Route Control Team, while other imagery is uploaded to the Routeview website, which hosts a comprehensive image library covering approximately 400 yards on either side of the railway.
Not all Network Rail routes currently make use of helicopter operations. However, those that do report that the insights and services provided by the Air Ops Team are extremely valuable to their daily activities. For example, the North West Route signs up to over 300 hours of flying time per year, while the Scotland Route signs up to over 600 hours.
On behalf of the CIRO North West & Wales Area, I would like to extend our thanks to Chris Ashworth for sharing the fantastic and fascinating work his team does for the railway industry. We hope to host similar events in the future to give more CIRO members the opportunity to hear from the Air Ops Team.
To find out more about Network Rail Air Operations, visit the Network Rail website
www. ciro. org
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