Train drivers clean up in leaves test

FIRST ScotRail drivers are learning how to deal with leaves on the track by running trains on rails smeared with washing-up liquid.

Drivers underwent the simulation at Bo'ness, West Lothian, last week in preparation for the autumn. Leaves on the track can add several hundred metres to braking distances.

Tom Cahill, 43, a ScotRail driver, said: "It's a very difficult experience in controlled conditions. I remember the first time it happened, it was a strange feeling - we call them toe-curlers because all you can do is apply the brakes and wait for the train to stop."