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.