The NMT was formed in direct response to concern over gauge corner cracking following the October 2000 Hatfield rail crash.

Other systems on the roof of the Development Vehicle (DV) measure features such as overhead line height and stagger.

On the West Coast Main Line, particular care has to be taken to ensure that clearances are maintained for the use of tilting trains.

The DV's equipment includes a video-based system utilising image recognition to look for defects such as missing clips.

The DV also houses a non-contact overhead line monitoring system, which utilises lasers to measure the position of the wires in relation to the rails the train is on.

As of January 2020 the NMT is allocated to Loram UK at the Railway Technical Centre (RTC), Derby where all vehicle maintenance and overhauls are carried out.