British Transport Police (BTP) has completed the first phase of its pioneering ‘Drone in a Box’ (DIAB) project with seven operational sites now live, further enhancing its ability to respond to trespass and emergency incidents.
The project has been delivered through BTP’s innovative Drones Development Programme, which is focused on integrating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone technology into the force’s wider operational capabilities. The technology enables drones to be launched and piloted remotely from a London-based control room, providing officers and Network Rail staff on the ground with live aerial intelligence within seconds.
BTP BVLOS drones are operated under a comprehensive ‘Safety Management System’ to ensure our operations are safe to the aviation community as well as those on the ground. We continue to work closely with the regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, as we further develop our capability.
Since launching our first site in Leeds in April 2025, four sites have been introduced across south London, as well as Leicester and Manchester.
These locations are known trespass hotspots and deployment of the DIAB forms part of BTP’s continued investment in innovative technology to keep everyone on the railway safe, reduce risk for officers and railway staff, and keep the network moving.
Between 1 April and 25 July, BTP’s Drone in a Box Capability conducted 550 flights. During that period, drones were the first resource on scene in 68% of operational incidents, with an average response time of just three minutes and 28 seconds.
The technology has already delivered tangible benefits for passengers and the rail industry. In the same reporting period, drone deployments have helped prevent an estimated 7,911 delay minutes and delivered more than £600,000 in potential disruption savings to the railway.
The tech is also proving invaluable in the search for vulnerable people and in quickly assessing reports of trespass, allowing officers to focus their resources where they are most needed. 20% of operational deployments to date have been to assist vulnerable people, while 44% of operational deployments to date were resolved through area searches which confirmed no trace of a reported person, enabling railway services to continue running safely without unnecessary disruption.
Recent deployments have included assisting officers during the containment of a suspected burglar near East Croydon, locating a lineside fire near Hither Green and helping safeguard a person in crisis near Thornton Heath by providing officers with their precise location.
Speaking at a specially held event at one of the site locations in Manchester, BTP Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said: “We’re just over a year on from our first site launch in Leeds and it’s great to see that our remote BVLOS drone capability is helping us reach incidents faster, make better-informed decisions and minimise disruption to the railway while keeping people safe.
“I’ve no doubt this capability will become even more instrumental as we continue to learn and fine tune from every deployment. We couldn’t do it without the support of our partners at Network Rail and the Department of Transport Operator (DfTO), who’ve been instrumental in working with us throughout.
“We’re going to continue to invest in the capability to ensure it’s the best it possibly can be, with a planned move to a new flight operations room in London, and further sites scheduled to open in the coming months.”
Rupert Lown, Group Safety, Security, Health & Environment Director, DFTO, said: “The rollout of these cutting-edge drones is making a real difference to more and more customers across the network. Drones are enabling rapid identification and response to dangerous incidents such as trespass and can resolve incidents that often cause frustrating delays for customers before they can occur.
“Closer collaboration between train operators, Network Rail and BTP is helping to deliver a better, more reliable and safe railway for everyone in Britain.”
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