Network Rail Signs MOU with Met Office

Network Rail has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Met Office to speed up processes related to weather-based research.

The MOU will reduce the time needed to commission research from months to days, with work including research on probabilistic weather forecasting, as well as understanding the links between earthwork failures and rainfall, antecedent soil wetness and geology.

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said:

Our railways are the backbone of Britain's economy, connecting communities and businesses across the country, and supporting the daily trips that keep the nation moving.

Extreme weather shouldn't impact people's journeys or disrupt the reliable service passengers depend on and expect, especially when every delayed journey affects people getting to work, visiting family, or accessing vital services.

This partnership between Network Rail and the Met Office is a game changer and represents exactly the kind of innovative collaboration we need to build a more resilient railway for the future. By combining world-class weather expertise with cutting-edge rail engineering, we're investing in smarter solutions that will keep Britain moving, whatever the weather throws at us.

Other research is set to include work on assisting controllers to make decisions on when it is safe for trains to run, as well as how fast.

Russell Shanley, Head of Programme Management for Network Rail’s weather team, said:

Making decisions on when to run trains through storms and how fast to run them is a huge responsibility for our controllers and we need to give them the best information possible to make those calls.

Currently, we understandably err on the side of caution and either slow trains down or stop them altogether, when it might be possible to keep things moving safely if we had the right data to drive that decision. This MOU will take us another step forward in that research and the drive to keep people moving safely.

Network Rail will continue to be supplied day-to-day weather forecasting by weather firm MetDesk.