Rail Breaks Management Strategy – 50 by ‘30

The total number of broken rails on the network has plateaued at approximately 100, breaks per year. This is despite a national increase in capacity, traffic and tonnage. Capacity will continue to increase on the network and a step change in broken rail/defect management, rail inspection and maintenance is required to reduce and/or maintain this level (100) of broken rails. The Network Rail Professional Head of Track has set a challenge of exploring what is required to reduce this number by half to 50 breaks per year by the year 2030.