USA: SkyRights Holdings is seeking to partner with Class I railways to make their alignments available for use by drone delivery companies and for ‘urban air mobility’ applications.
The company said the airspace above railways offers ‘a unique solution to address the safety, electric charging infrastructure and liability management challenges when compared to flying delivery drones over populated areas.’
In the UK, flying drones over the railway is very much forbidden. Whilst Network Rail and its surveying suppliers use drones for their survey and inspection work, even they never fly directly over the railway.
CXXX
… Or very rarely, anyway.
I went to a a lecture last year from the head of their “Aeriel survey” section, with a long bit on drones included.
IIRC they only fly directly over the tracks when there’s someone on the ground, close to & in visual contact with the site, & never do it remotely.
But he said that the technology has saved them vast amounts of time & money – finding large birds’ nests in overhead gantries was apparently a common problem!
Greg T……I think my shorthand was meant to reflect Sir Joseph Porter in HMS Pinafore……”what never? Well………..hardly ever”!
100andThirty: I think you’ve mixed your characters – it’s Captain Corcoran who always has the “well, hardly ever” line (although one “What, never?” is spoken by Sir Joseph).
Alice….you remember your Gilbert and Sullivan better then me!!