NEW technology pioneered by a Selby company to destroy potentially dangerous weeds on rail tracks is set to be adopted all over Europe.

Weedfree on Track Limited, based in Balne, has just begun using a method of effective, environmentally-sound railway weed control perfected by a Hungarian company Weeds growing on railway tracks can affect train braking, interfere with personnel safety, prevent access to the tracks and disrupt infrastructure and drainage.

The company's solution is designed not only to pinpoint where the growths are most rampant, but also to reduce pesticide usage, which proposals for new European legislation demand.

Weedfree On Track Limited, which has provided main-line weed control services for the Belgian rail network since 2002, has been presenting its latest high-tech equipment in Brussels.

Timothy Kirkhope, MEP for Yorkshire and Humberside, visited a demonstration of the company's latest technology in the European capital.

The firm's sister company Weedfree Limited operates throughout the UK and employs about 120 operators, fully-certified both for working on the rail network and for the application of herbicides.

It has taken delivery of a brand new train unit, on the front of which is mounted a camera and data is transferred to sophisticated software in the control room.

Global positioning satellite technology maps where the weeds are on the track and logs their position for future weed control seasons.

As a result of the mapping process, the on-board spray equipment determines the correct dosage of chemical spray needed.

In this way herbicides are applied only to areas requiring treatment, significantly reducing the amount used, saving costs and reducing environmental impact.

The new spray train has on-board accommodation, so that the train can operate a full 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service, anywhere on the European rail network.

It also has the ability to work during the night to minimise disruption to normal passenger and freight traffic. The train began operating in Belgium in the spring, and Weedfree hopes to hold successful trials in Denmark and the Czech Republic.

Mr Kirkhope said: "The European Parliament is currently considering a number of related directives including the Pesticides And Soil Directive, which will require member states to introduce measures to restrict and regulate the use of herbicides, including the usage on railway lines.

"The improvements in speed of application and efficiency mean that Weedfree Track Limited and others are able to offer their services to rail operators throughout the world and I am delighted that a Yorkshire company is one of those leading the way within the industry."

Neil Bangham is managing director of Weedfree On Track Ltd and leader of a management buy-out in December 2004. Customers now include Network Rail and Northern Irish Rail as well as train operating and infrastructure companies, local authorities, amenity and industrial companies.