Flying a drone near the railway

[Sean]

Over the last couple of years i have very much gotten into the hobby of flying drones.

 

One thing ive always been interested is the idea of taking photos and videos of trains and stations and other interesting bits and bobs on the network such as container loading around the port.

One of the main reasons i have not actually done this is that I dont know where I actually am or am not allowed fly in relation to this and i really dont want to be seen as a nuisance if spotted by a driver or station staff etc so its probably best to ask first.

 

Can anyone give me relevant information in relation to this? Kind of assume it would be fine as long as im not directly flying over lines or doing otherwise silly/unsafe things but obviously im not sure without getting confirmation from someone more experienced in such matters.

 

cheers.

[Galteemore]

22 minutes ago, Sean said:

Over the last couple of years i have very much gotten into the hobby of flying drones.

 

One thing ive always been interested is the idea of taking photos and videos of trains and stations and other interesting bits and bobs on the network such as container loading around the port.

One of the main reasons i have not actually done this is that I dont know where I actually am or am not allowed fly in relation to this and i really dont want to be seen as a nuisance if spotted by a driver or station staff etc so its probably best to ask first.

 

Can anyone give me relevant information in relation to this? Kind of assume it would be fine as long as im not directly flying over lines or doing otherwise silly/unsafe things but obviously im not sure without getting confirmation from someone more experienced in such matters.

 

cheers.

It’s an issue on the big island, where Network Rail have a dedicated department to deal with it. Drones/UAV/RPAS have a number of safety and security issues, as you hint at. Prob no harm to engage with IE’s operations team for guidance.

[DJ Dangerous]

1 hour ago, Sean said:

Over the last couple of years i have very much gotten into the hobby of flying drones.

 

One thing ive always been interested is the idea of taking photos and videos of trains and stations and other interesting bits and bobs on the network such as container loading around the port.

One of the main reasons i have not actually done this is that I dont know where I actually am or am not allowed fly in relation to this and i really dont want to be seen as a nuisance if spotted by a driver or station staff etc so its probably best to ask first.

 

Can anyone give me relevant information in relation to this? Kind of assume it would be fine as long as im not directly flying over lines or doing otherwise silly/unsafe things but obviously im not sure without getting confirmation from someone more experienced in such matters.

 

cheers.

Spanish law, assuming Irish law is similar, has no-fly zones and restricted zones published in real time on the EnAire website.

I’d assume there is an Irish equivalent.

Aside from that, no flying within 300m horizontal distance of people, buildings etc, no flying over urban centres etc.

Fines are pretty hefty:

 

 

[Sean]

On 31/7/2025 at 10:24 PM, Galteemore said:

It’s an issue on the big island, where Network Rail have a dedicated department to deal with it. Drones/UAV/RPAS have a number of safety and security issues, as you hint at. Prob no harm to engage with IE’s operations team for guidance.

I do see the auditor types hassling railway staff on a regular basis, I would generally like to avoid that approach 

On 31/7/2025 at 11:50 PM, DJ Dangerous said:

Spanish law, assuming Irish law is similar, has no-fly zones and restricted zones published in real time on the EnAire website.

I’d assume there is an Irish equivalent.

Aside from that, no flying within 300m horizontal distance of people, buildings etc, no flying over urban centres etc.

We got the no fly zones and they mostly apply to zones around the airports and prisons and whatnot. the second rule you are quoting only applies to older drones that are over 250 grams, under 250g or the new c1 class can be flown anywhere even over "uninvolved people" but obviously such things are discouraged unless nessesary.

 

It more becomes a question of, if im flying lawfully in a field or such a place that there is a line running through with the intention of filming the train as it passes and possibly even following it for a short distance as part of the video. Can i actually do this since realistically I am flying adjacent to the railway and not above it. 

 

that being said should the driver or someone see a drone following his train briefly, will they actually care or have to report it to someone or anything like that?

 

Another thing which can be done with a drone nowadays is the construction of an accurate 3d model of a building from a series of photographs of said building, such an application could prove very handy for us model makers but assumedly most of these buildings would be based on the railway and overflight would be required in order to capture all of the required data and thats where you might be asking for trouble.

[DJ Dangerous]

3 hours ago, Sean said:

I do see the auditor types hassling railway staff on a regular basis, I would generally like to avoid that approach 

We got the no fly zones and they mostly apply to zones around the airports and prisons and whatnot. the second rule you are quoting only applies to older drones that are over 250 grams, under 250g or the new c1 class can be flown anywhere even over "uninvolved people" but obviously such things are discouraged unless nessesary.

 

It more becomes a question of, if im flying lawfully in a field or such a place that there is a line running through with the intention of filming the train as it passes and possibly even following it for a short distance as part of the video. Can i actually do this since realistically I am flying adjacent to the railway and not above it. 

 

that being said should the driver or someone see a drone following his train briefly, will they actually care or have to report it to someone or anything like that?

 

Another thing which can be done with a drone nowadays is the construction of an accurate 3d model of a building from a series of photographs of said building, such an application could prove very handy for us model makers but assumedly most of these buildings would be based on the railway and overflight would be required in order to capture all of the required data and thats where you might be asking for trouble.

Found the Irish map:

https://www.uaai.ie/airspace-map
 

Lots of no-fly zones!

Can’t upload a screenshot, image upload keeps failing, but I’m seeing a lot of red zones.

[DJ Dangerous]

@Sean, do smaller drones have to follow the 1:1 horizontal distance : altitude rule?

Mine’s an older 1400g C2 / A2 class, and I’m obliged to maintain a horizontal distance no less than the altitude above terrain.

[Barl]

IÉ have their own "team" of drone operators - still a one man team as far as I'm aware, so it's probably not that unusual for drivers to see a drone operating nearby, if they notice them at all. However, most of the on-track work would be carried out during possessions. 

There's been talk for a while now of more IÉ engineers getting drone operating training to help with inspections on the network but nothing has come of it so far! 

[jhb171achill]

On 31/7/2025 at 9:59 PM, Sean said:

Over the last couple of years i have very much gotten into the hobby of flying drones.

 

One thing ive always been interested is the idea of taking photos and videos of trains and stations and other interesting bits and bobs on the network such as container loading around the port.

One of the main reasons i have not actually done this is that I dont know where I actually am or am not allowed fly in relation to this and i really dont want to be seen as a nuisance if spotted by a driver or station staff etc so its probably best to ask first.

 

Can anyone give me relevant information in relation to this? Kind of assume it would be fine as long as im not directly flying over lines or doing otherwise silly/unsafe things but obviously im not sure without getting confirmation from someone more experienced in such matters.

 

cheers.

As far as the actual railway is concerned, you'd probably ned permission to fly directly over their property, but they would have no say outside that. It would be a matter of flying close to the railway line, but not directly over it. Of course, you'd need to be sure that the propety adjacent to the line, where you WERE directly over, would not have issues with it, and obviously also that no legal safety or privacy requirements were breached.

[Mayner]

10 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

As far as the actual railway is concerned, you'd probably ned permission to fly directly over their property, but they would have no say outside that. It would be a matter of flying close to the railway line, but not directly over it. Of course, you'd need to be sure that the propety adjacent to the line, where you WERE directly over, would not have issues with it, and obviously also that no legal safety or privacy requirements were breached.

1. It looks like an Operator is required to Register with the IAA if they own a drone over 250kg or if it has a camera. https://www.iaa.ie/general-aviation/drones/drone-register. The requirement to register on the MySRS site triggers a requirement to complete on-line training and additionally;

2. even recreational use of a camera drone may be subject to privacy legislation as it may potentially be used to identify a 'natural person.

3. An important point 'Line of Sight' (VLOS) flight for drones that don't trigger a requirement for a "Remote Pilot Competency' cert is defined as the pilot being able to see the drone and its surroundings with their own eyes, i.e. without visual aids such as bionoculars, a monitor (I Phone, Android or other device) or headset.

In this part of the world there is a requirement to obtain the owner/occupiers permission before flying a drone over private property. A drone operator could be potentially committing trespass if they enter private property in Ireland without the owners permission (incl IE's rail corridor or privately owned adjoining land)

Edited Monday at 11:13 by Mayner

[jhb171achill]

9 hours ago, Mayner said:

1. It looks like an Operator is required to Register with the IAA if they own a drone over 250kg or if it has a camera. https://www.iaa.ie/general-aviation/drones/drone-register. The requirement to register on the MySRS site triggers a requirement to complete on-line training and additionally;

2. even recreational use of a camera drone may be subject to privacy legislation as it may potentially be used to identify a 'natural person.

3. An important point 'Line of Sight' (VLOS) flight for drones that don't trigger a requirement for a "Remote Pilot Competency' cert is defined as the pilot being able to see the drone and its surroundings with their own eyes, i.e. without visual aids such as bionoculars, a monitor (I Phone, Android or other device) or headset.

In this part of the world there is a requirement to obtain the owner/occupiers permission before flying a drone over private property. A drone operator could be potentially committing trespass if they enter private property in Ireland without the owners permission (incl IE's rail corridor or privately owned adjoining land)

Exactly - hence my advice to make sure first. I have heard of people getting into serious trouble over stuff like this.