Guided Gritter on The Busway

A SPECIALLY adapted gritting machine that will clear ice from the Guided Busway during the winter months has now been tested on the busway track. The gritter has been fitted with guide wheels, like the ones on guided buses, so it can drive along the track

A SPECIALLY adapted gritting machine that will clear ice from the Guided Busway during the winter months has now been tested on the busway track.

The gritter has been fitted with guide wheels, like the ones on guided buses, so it can drive along the track and clear it before buses use the route when cold snaps hit.

Salted water will be sprayed on the track to clear the ice as rock salt would drop into the gap between the rails of the track and onto the grass. As the salted water is only being dropped on to the concrete beams less money will be spent and there is less of an ecological impact.

Bob Menzies, Head of Delivery for the Guided Busway at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "I am very pleased with the way the trial went this week. The gritter moved along the track very smoothly. The next step will be fitting the water tanks and specially adapted spray so it drops the salt water on the concrete tracks, and not between them. Adapting the gritter with a tank for salted water is fairly straight forward but we will test the system before it is put into action this winter."

Salted water is commonly used by local authorities to clear ice from roads and is just as effective as rock salt. Cambridgeshire already mix salted water with rock salt to make sure it sticks to the roads which make it more effective.

The concrete busway track has been designed to cope with the salt water and will not mean any additional maintenance.