Train-mounted lasers blast tracks clean

[securitybreach]

If you're a home owner, having a laser to vaporize all those pesky autumn leaves that cover your lawn probably sounds like a pretty good idea. Though that bit of tech isn't likely to be developed anytime soon for home use, it is being looked at as a solution for trains.

 

Blasting leaves from train tracks with high-powered lasers might sound like a bit of overkill, but New Scientist reports that leaves can actually form a Teflon-like coating on the tracks that make it hard for the train wheels to maintain their grip. In fact, the magazine reports that according to the UK's Network Rail, leaves on the tracks created 4.5 million hours of passenger delays in 2013.....

http://www.cnet.com/...t-tracks-clean/

[ebrke]

I believe it. I'm not a train, but I've taken some of my worst slips and/or falls walking in the autumn after a hard rain.