News / UK and world by Press Association November 10, 2018, 2:47 am Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Sign up to our Daily newsletter There will be no unplanned delays due to HS2 track problems, the company building the high speed railway has claimed. In a UK first, infrastructure monitoring equipment such as video, lasers and acoustic sensors will be fitted to passenger trains to assess the condition of rail and overhead power cables. Engineers will analyse the data in real time, meaning they can identify any problems and carry out maintenance before a fault affects punctuality on the £55.7 billion railway, according to HS2 Ltd. A spokesman for the government-funded company said this will make emergency engineering work, speed restrictions and unplanned delays “a thing of the past” on the new line. Nearly one million (999,715) minutes were lost to delays caused by track issues across Britain’s rail network in 2017/18, according to Press Association analysis of Office of Rail and Road data. This was roughly 7% of the total number of delay minutes. Passenger services are not fitted with monitoring equipment, meaning government-owned company Network Rail must deploy a fleet of trains, helicopters and drones to carry out the work. HS2 Ltd’s asset management director Mark Morris said: “Our aim is simple: to design HS2 around passengers and create a unique experience in terms of its look, feel and ease of use. “We’re aiming for outstanding punctuality with the ability to predict infrastructure issues before they occur. If… [Read full story]
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