InSAR Data Provision

Network Rail (NR) owns, operates, and maintains the UK Rail Infrastructure. Network Rail has been utilising a variety of large scale remotely sensed data since 2014 when a national aerial survey captured high resolution aerial imagery, lidar and near infra-red data from a helicopter. The 2014 data was captured during the summer months and provided Network Rail with a comprehensive view of vegetation. Between 2019 and 2021 Network Rail re-captured the aerial imagery and lidar during the winter months to obtain a leaves-off view of the earthworks. With the emergence of satellite earth observation data, Network Rail is looking beyond airborne remote sensing data to gain intelligence about factors that may influence the safe operation of the railway. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) offers the potential to monitor ground deformation at very high temporal and spatial resolution. Network Rail would like to create an integrated system that combines InSAR with existing asset data to provide the business with insight into ground movements across and beyond our ownership boundary.