LNER Celebrates Remarkable Innovation Award Win For Deer Deterrent System
25/11/2024
LNER is celebrating after winning an award recognising its vital contribution to protecting wildlife living alongside the railway while delivering an improved service and experience to its customers.
Its work, in partnership with Network Rail, has been awarded ‘Remarkable Innovation for Large Organisations’ at the 2024 Dynamites IT and Tech Awards for their Automated Deer Deterrent System, which was developed to reduce the number of deer strikes on the railway.
The system is installed in deer hotspot areas across the East Coast Main Line, including near Grantham. It uses AI technology to recognise deer that are approaching track and emits audible alarms and uses lights to safely deter them away.
Deer strikes can be hugely impactful to the railway. It can shock and upset the driver, delay the train involved, on average for 48 minutes, blocking the line and delaying other services in the area, and can cause significant damage to trains.
Since the technology was installed in May 2023, the results have been hugely positive. More than 6,000 deterrent events have been recorded with some areas having no strikes reported following the installation.
Ross Welham, LNER’s Lead Digital Research and Innovation Manager, said: “This award win is testament to the hard work and dedication that teams from both LNER and Network Rail have displayed in tackling this important issue.
“Since Covid, the deer population has grown massively and, sadly, we were seeing more deer strikes on the East Coast route. This technology greatly reduces the likelihood of an incident and the results speak for themselves. Some hotspot areas have seen no strikes since the introduction of the system, protecting the deer population, and improving railway performance for our customers.”
Johanna Priestley, Route Engineer for Network Rail’s East Coast route said: "It’s great that our joint project with LNER to reduce delays due to deer strikes on the East Coast Main Line is getting recognition for its innovative approach. Our Automated Deer Deterrent System is making a real difference in protecting wildlife whilst at the same time cutting down lengthy delays for passengers and freight on one of the busiest mainline railway lines in Britain.”
The technology is more cost-effective and quicker to install than traditional deer fencing. It is hoped that LNER and Network Rail will continue to roll out the system more widely to other areas of the route.
The Dynamites are the North East’s highly anticipated IT and Technology awards. This year was the 11th year the awards have taken place and welcomed over 500 guests from more than 150 organisations.
