Development of a mechanical weeding system for railway tracks

• An innovative herbicide-free technology was evaluated on railway tracks. • Application of the system on track sections where herbicides are strongly restricted. • Application on track sections mowed with small manual equipment. • The system controls plant height with reduced energy requirement and effort. • A new roller geometry has been designed and assessed. Weed management is an important maintenance task to ensure the stability of railway tracks. Currently, unwanted vegetation growing in the ballast bed is primarily treated with chemical herbicides. However, increasing restrictions on the application of herbicides and declining social acceptance of their use put railway operators under pressure to develop herbicide-free methods for weed management. To contribute to sustainable vegetation control, we designed a mechanical weeding system that pulls out or tears off weeds on railway tracks. The system consists of counter-rotating rollers that grasp the weeds during rotation. The development was evaluated experimentally in the laboratory and on rail tracks. The system effectively reduced plant height with low energy requirements and was able to uproot grass. The machine could also be applied to areas maintained with manual equipment like string trimmers or where the use of herbicides is restricted, such as in nature reserves. Moreover, the geometry of the rollers was modified from conventional pneumatic tires to rotating plastic gears, which improves torque transmission between rollers and enhances plant grasping during pulling.