BTP expands remote drone network
British Transport Police has completed the first phase of a remote “Drone in a Box” network, with seven sites now operational across the rail network.
The technology allows drones to be launched and piloted remotely from a London-based control room, providing officers and railway staff with live aerial intelligence within seconds.
BTP said its seventh site has now gone live, with the network covering known trespass hotspots in south London, Leeds, Leicester and Manchester.
The force launched its first site in Leeds in April 2025 and has since expanded the capability as part of its Drones Development Programme.
Between 1 April and 25 July this year, the drones conducted 550 flights and were the first resource on scene at 68 per cent of operational incidents. The average response time was three minutes and 28 seconds.
BTP said deployments during the period had helped prevent an estimated 7,911 minutes of delay and delivered more than £600,000 in potential disruption savings to the railway.
The drones are also being used to search for vulnerable people and assess reports of trespass. One fifth of operational deployments to date have involved searches for vulnerable people, while 44 per cent were resolved through area searches which established that there was no trace of a reported person. BTP said this had allowed railway services to continue safely without unnecessary disruption.
Recent deployments have included helping officers contain 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.
The capability uses Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) technology, with BTP operating the drones under a safety management system and continuing to work with the Civil Aviation Authority as the programme develops.
Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said the remote capability was helping the force “reach incidents faster, make better-informed decisions and minimise disruption to the railway while keeping people safe”.
She said BTP planned to continue investing in the technology, with a new flight operations room planned in London and further remote sites due to open in the coming months.
The force said the first phase of the project represented a further step towards integrating remotely operated drones into its wider operational capabilities.