Vision Link and Farson Digital deploy solar-powered HD cameras to keep Gloucestershire and Worcestershire's roads moving
Vision Link has deployed its solar-powered LTE video cameras for Gloucestershire County Council and Worcestershire County Council, in partnership with Farson Digital. The cameras monitor critical roads that are prone to flooding across both counties.
The cameras are fully self-contained and need no mains power or wired connection, so they can be installed quickly at remote roadside locations. They stream HD video and images over the 4G network, giving highways teams a clear, live view of conditions wherever they are.
When the Severn rises, the roads close
Both counties sit on the River Severn, and flooding regularly cuts off key routes. In Gloucestershire, Storm Dennis in 2020 flooded parts of the A40, A417 and A38. In 2024, the A417 at Maisemore stayed closed for more than a week. Few in the county have forgotten July 2007, when two months' rain fell in 14 hours.
Worcestershire faces the same pressures. During Storm Bert in November 2024, the A4103 was closed between Leigh Sinton and the A44 at Crown East. The A443, the B4194 Bewdley Switchback and routes through Upton upon Severn are regularly affected when the river is high.
Why HD video matters
Both councils singled out the HD video. A water level reading tells a team that a road might be flooded. A clear live picture shows whether it actually is, whether vehicles are stranded, and whether the road is safe to reopen.
Worcestershire's experience shows why that matters. After one flood event, the council reported that water on the A443 at Lindridge had gone down, but the road stayed closed because of abandoned vehicles, hay bales and mud. That is exactly the kind of detail only video can capture.
With HD video on critical roads, highways teams can see conditions for themselves, close roads sooner when needed, reopen them faster when it's safe, and give drivers accurate information, all without sending crews out to check in bad weather.
Behind the cameras is Vision Link's in-house software, backed by a custom AI trained on more than 10 million real-world images collected over 14 years from sites for the Environment Agency, Network Rail, county councils and commercial clients.
Vision Link wins Network Rail tender to protect South East railway from flooding
Vision Link has won a competitive tender to become preferred supplier to Network Rail's Kent and Sussex routes, the railway connecting the South East of England. These routes carry millions of passengers into London every week.
Under the new contract, Vision Link will roll out its LTE video cameras with integrated water level sensors to monitor catchpits across Kent and Sussex. The cameras give Network Rail real-time visibility of the drainage that keeps the railway running.
A growing threat
Flooding is one of the biggest weather challenges facing the region's railway. According to Network Rail, the main cause is drainage and topography: in extreme rainfall, drainage can be overwhelmed and water reaches the trackbed, damaging assets and stopping services. Across the wider Southern region, flooding caused an average of 38,000 minutes of delay a year between 2017 and 2022. Much of the South East network uses third-rail electrification, which is unreliable in floods and adds risk for the staff responding to them. Nationally, 2023/24 was the worst year on record, with more than 1,200 flooding incidents.
Eyes on the railway, around the clock
Vision Link cameras combine continuous water level readings with HD video streaming. Our custom-built AI analyses the images to detect blocked drainage, flooding on the track and obstructions on the line. It alerts Network Rail teams so they can see what is happening at a site and act before it causes disruption, rather than sending staff out to find out.
The AI was developed entirely in-house. It was trained on more than 10 million real-world images collected over 14 years from Vision Link installations for the Environment Agency, Network Rail, county councils and commercial clients.
Why Network Rail chose Vision Link
Network Rail singled out three strengths: our HD video streaming, our in-house software development, and our custom AI.
A growing national network
The South East rollout builds on Vision Link's existing Network Rail installations in the North West, including Parbold, Plumpton, Hooton, Ledsham, Kenyon, Troopers Land, Dobroyd and Wardle.
Vision Link Cameras Deployed Across South Eastern Railway Network
We're pleased to announce that our flood warning cameras have been deployed at multiple locations across the South Eastern Railway network as part of a new initiative to improve weather resilience and keep trains running safely.
Our solar-powered dual-camera systems are now providing 24/7 monitoring at six sites including Wadhurst, Hildenborough, Sevenoaks, and Selling Tunnel — locations selected based on their history of flooding incidents. The cameras deliver real-time visual monitoring of track and drainage conditions, with early warning alerts helping teams respond proactively to rising water levels.
The technology enables remote assessment of high-risk sites during severe weather, reducing the need for routine site visits and allowing engineers to make faster, more informed decisions about when intervention is needed.
South Eastern Railway has indicated plans to expand the deployment with additional cameras in the near future.
Designed for the Railway
These cameras have been redesigned from the ground up, working closely with Network Rail to address the unique requirements of railway infrastructure monitoring. Every aspect — from the mounting hardware to the user interface — has been developed in collaboration with railway engineers to ensure the system meets the demanding operational and safety standards required for trackside deployment.
Each camera uses GPS to automatically pinpoint its location and calculate key railway safety information including track mileage, nearest access point, and running line details. This ensures that when an alert is raised, response teams have all the information they need to reach the site quickly and safely.
What people are saying
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Managing flood risks on the railway in the face of a changing climate
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What the UK Government said about Vision Link technology Helping residents at risk from flooding in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire New flood camera goes down a tweet in Halesowen
— Environment Agency
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Floods, camera, action: new high tech cameras helping residents at risk from flooding in Warwickshire
— Environment Agency
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A little know fact is that Vision Link White Label and supply cameras to other companies around the UK
