LIFE NATURERAIL

Project description

ProRail, Infrabel and UIC have joined forces under the LIFE-NATURE-RAIL project to demonstrate a zero-chemical, flexible and multimethod approach for vegetation management along railway inspection path.

This collaboration focuses on developing sustainable alternatives to traditional chemical methods and standardisation of practices. The goal is to achieve comparable results and facilitate replicability through national demonstrations. Innovative methods, including cryogenic treatment, electro-weeding and the use of slow-growing grass in combination with a mowing robot, will be tested on safety paths along operational tracks in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Results will be processed in a cost-benefit analysis to determine the socio-economic performance of these methods. This initiative aspires to lead a comprehensive approach that integrates habitat conservation, effective asset management and operational reliability.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 101147292.

Project objectives

Vegetation management along the railway track is an essential part of railway maintenance. ProRail and Infrabel carefully plan and execute their vegetation control to protect their lineside habitats as well as to ensure the safety of passengers and railway workers and its reliable operations. Especially in the Benelux rail infrastructure managers deal with contextual considerations such as vulnerable aquatic life, densely populated areas and steep railway embankments. As a common practice, chemical herbicides are still used on safety paths and railway tracks. With the recent political and environmental awareness changes, many European railway infrastructure managers are currently facing similar challenges in phasing out harmful chemicals and seeking appropriate alternative methods.

The NATURE-RAIL project is a European initiative aimed at achieving zero-chemical on the inspection paths along railways, helping the sector adopt alternative methods. The project started in October 2023 and involves a collaboration between ProRail (rail infrastructure manager of the Netherlands), Infrabel (rail infrastructure manager of Belgium) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) within the EU-LIFE project.

The project applies a multimethod approach for vegetation control to the inspection path in different countries’ environmental conditions. ProRail will demonstrate three innovative vegetation control methods along operational rail tracks:

• Cryogenic treatment: a thermal method that uses liquid nitrogen for cryogenic treatment. Liquid nitrogen is applied to the plants, causing a rapid decrease in temperature and the formation of ice crystals within the plant cells. This process leads to cellular damage and ultimately to the death of the plant.
• Electro-weeding: this technique applies electricity to plants, causing irreparable damage to the plant’s cell walls. It targets all parts of the plants, including leaves, stems and roots.
• Combination of slow-growing grass and a mowing robot: this method uses different kinds of seed mixes of slow-growing vegetation to lower the need for frequent weed control. It will be combined with a mowing robot, specialized in the rail environment.

Infrabel will do a first replication of the three methods on the Belgian track to demonstrate the cross-border applicability of the methods. Both Infrabel and the International Union of Railways are involved from the beginning of the project to ensure that ProRail’s demonstration is set up and effectuated to take into account non-Dutch and country-specific characteristics affecting maintenance in the rail environment. UIC will also contribute to collecting feedback from other European rail infrastructure managers, providing technical and policy guidance and stimulating further replication of the applied methods.

Overall objectives:

• The main objective of LIFE NATURE-RAIL is the demonstration of a zero-chemicals, flexible and multimethod approach for vegetation control that can be applied to the inspection path, suitable for different railway environments.
• Process the results of the demonstrations in a cost-benefit analysis to determine the socio-economic performance of the three methods and develop criteria for selecting the most appropriate method for a specific rail environment.
• Explore the scale-up possibilities of all methods beyond the Netherlands and Belgium.

Work performed and main achievements

Some achievements have been celebrated since the start of this project. We will shortly highlight the progress per method:

Electro-weeding - A dedicated (external) team has been appointed to carry out the execution of the treatment. The demonstration locations have been carefully selected and subjected to additional checks to ensure the safety of the demonstration. All necessary safety documents have been prepared and are in place. A comprehensive treatment plan has been drafted, and the first round of implementation is scheduled for the end of the summer.

Cryogenic - In 2023, the first tests were conducted with an initial version of a cryogenic device, yielding promising results. This year, the developer is focused on enhancing the machine and increasing the applicability to the inspection paths. We expect an improved version of the device by the end of this year and the demonstrations are scheduled to take place in 2025.

Slow-growing grass and mowing robot - A specialized company has been appointed to research the optimal seed mixes and key considerations to take into account for the railway environment. Additionally, a study has begun to adapt the lawn-mowing robot to make the machine suitable for the inspection paths. The first demonstration is scheduled for 2025.

Results and Impacts

Eventually, the goal of this project is to demonstrate zero-chemical vegetation control methods and to evaluate their (cost)effectiveness. By creating demonstration and implementation plans for all three vegetation control methods, with a focus on European replication, it is expected that the impact will increase in the upcoming years. ProRail, Infrabel and UIC are closely working together to ensure these demonstrations are valuable to other countries as well. These elaborate plans will be shared with rail infrastructure managers and will help them to start up similar initiatives without reinventing the wheel.

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