Know where the line is losing its clearance before the plan is set.

Rail Vegetation Monitoring maps vegetation encroachment along the running line and the sighting distance to the signals on it, once a year, and hands you a register your contractor can work from.

Start a projectSee what the register holds
GSD
≤0.5 m (VHR)
Cadence
Annual
Platform
VHR satellite / aerial
Spectral
RGB + NIR
Schematic cross-section of a rail cutting: the track on ballast, a dashed clearance zone above and beside it, lineside tree canopy and scrub reaching into the zone. 1234
  1. 1Track
  2. 2Clearance zone
  3. 3Canopy line
  4. 4Encroachment
Fig. 1. Schematic corridor cross-section: track, clearance zone and canopy line. Not a survey drawing.

The job today

How the vegetation worklist gets built now

Lineside inspectors walk the route, or ride the cab, and write down what they see: a tree leaning over the track here, undergrowth closing into the clearance zone there, a signal that has lost some of its view. Those notes become a worklist for the vegetation-management contractor, and the worklist feeds the annual plan.

It works well for the stretch in front of the inspector. The trouble is the rest of the route. A walk only covers so much ground before the plan is fixed, so the order contractors visit in follows what got reported: the branch that came down, the driver who rang about a signal. A cutting that quietly closed in over two seasons has nobody's name on it until it becomes a report.

The sighting question is harder still. A signal loses its view gradually, and from the cess it looks much as it did last year. Between inspection cycles it can be hard to point to a record of when the canopy edge moved.

A double-track running line with lineside trees and scrub close on both sides, running towards an overbridge
Double-track running line, lineside growth close on both sides.

This register gives you one picture of the whole corridor, once a year, before the plan is set. The inspector's walk stays. What changes is that the walk goes to the places the register says to look first.

What you get

What the register holds

  1. 2.1

    Chainage register

    Table, CSV

    One row per encroachment location, in chainage order: where it is, whether it is canopy over the track or undergrowth in the clearance zone, and its distance to the track. One delivery per annual pass, ready to hand to the contractor.

  2. 2.2

    Signal sighting flags

    Table, CSV

    Each signal with reduced sighting distance is flagged, read from the mapped canopy edge along the approach. This is geometry from imagery. It is a list of signals to go and look at, not a sighting survey.

  3. 2.3

    Corridor overlay map

    GeoPackage or Shapefile

    The encroachment locations and flagged signals as a layer over the corridor, for QGIS or ArcGIS and for the vegetation-management crews who work from a map.

How it works

  1. Define the corridor

    You send the route: a centreline or boundary, and the signal positions if you keep them. We agree the extent with you.

  2. Annual pass

    We pick the clearest RGB+NIR VHR pass of the season over the corridor, timed to your plan.

  3. Segment and measure

    Vegetation is segmented and measured against the clearance zone. NIR helps tell vegetation type and vigour apart from other dark surfaces.

  4. Register delivered

    The chainage register, the signal flags and the overlay map arrive together. We go through the top of the list with you.

Where it fits

Where it fits in your workflow

For the annual vegetation management plan

Use the register to rank segments before the plan is fixed. It tells the contractor which stretches to visit first and gives the signalling engineer a dated record to look at between inspection cycles. Your inspector walks the top of the list, makes the call on what to cut, and the plan follows from that.

A single line curving away between grass and trees, a signal post beside the track in the foreground
A signal on the approach to a curve.

Limits

  1. L01

    Resolution floor

    At 0.5 m a pixel is wider than a branch. Tree crowns and thick scrub are mapped as areas. Individual stems, thin overhanging boughs and low ground cover at the foot of an embankment are read as patches or missed.

  2. L02

    NIR does not see through canopy

    NIR separates vegetation from other surfaces and helps with type and vigour. It does not show what is under a closed canopy. Anything beneath trees is mapped from the canopy edge.

  3. L03

    Sighting flags are not a survey

    Reduced sighting distance is flagged geometrically from the mapped canopy edge. It does not replace an engineering sighting check on the signal.

  4. L04

    Clear-sky window

    Optical imagery needs a clear day. A cloudy season can push the pass later, and leaf-off winter imagery shows a different canopy edge from summer.

  5. L05

    Once a year

    One pass a year. Storm damage or a fast-growing stretch shows up in the next pass. Event-driven re-flights are not part of this offer.

  6. L06

    Not a ground walk

    The register ranks where to look. It does not replace the inspector's walk or the person deciding what to cut.

Who it's for

For

  • Infrastructure managers and lineside asset managers who own the vegetation management plan
  • Signalling and route asset engineers who need a dated view of signal sighting
  • Vegetation inspectors and contractor supervisors working from a worklist

Not for

  • Teams that need a certified sighting survey or a compliance certificate
  • Teams who want monthly or live monitoring of the corridor
  • Vegetation under a closed canopy, or individual stems and boughs
  • Powerline, pipeline or road corridors

FAQ

Questions before a project

Does NIR let you see through canopy?

No. NIR helps tell vegetation type and vigour apart. It cannot see under a closed canopy.

How precise is the sighting-distance flag?

It is a geometric flag from the mapped canopy edge. It marks signals worth checking on foot. It is not an engineering sightline survey.

Does this replace the ground walk?

No. It tells your inspectors where the walk is most needed.

Can you go more often than annual?

Annual is the cadence this is built for. Re-flights after storm damage are not part of this offer.

How do we check it against our own records?

Pick a stretch your inspectors walked recently and compare their notes with the register for the same chainage. Decide for yourself whether the ranking is good enough to plan with.

Will it load into our systems?

It comes as a table or CSV in chainage order and a GeoPackage or Shapefile overlay, so anything that reads a GIS layer or a spreadsheet can take it. We don't write into your asset system.

What do you need from us to start?

The route as a centreline or boundary, and signal positions if you hold them. Tell us when your vegetation management plan is set and we will say whether the imagery calendar can meet it.

Who owns the results and the imagery?

Ownership and licence terms are written into the project agreement before anything is ordered. If your legal team needs to see them, ask early.

How is a project priced?

The quote depends on the length of corridor and the imagery source, and we price it for your route. No figure is quoted on this page.

Register your corridor before the plan is set.

Tell us which line you would start with and when the vegetation management plan is fixed.

Start a project