UFO in the night sky? No, it was just Network Rail's Flying Banana!

BLUE BEAMS EMITTED BY TRAIN'S HI-TECH TRACK-TESTING EQUIPMENT

- By RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

BLUE beams of light in the night sky had the imaginations of some Retford residents working overtime - but the Martians haven’t landed just yet!

Residents reported seeing the strange phenomenon on Monday night, with UFOs, the Northern Lights, a Coldplay concert and even the set of a sequel for War of the Worlds among the explanations offered.

But none of the above applied, at least on this occasion.

The bright blue lights actually came from Network Rail’s New Measurement Train (NMT), which inspects the condition of the tracks to identify faults before they become a safety issue.

The bright yellow train, affectionately known as the Flying Banana, travels at up to 125mph.

In use by Network Rail for the past 15 years, the NMT is kitted out with hi-tech measurement systems, track scanners and a highresolution camera.