Great Western Coffee Shop

A train that was already very late due to major signal failures suffered further delays after its driver^s psychological fitness to continue was assessed by managers.

Passengers on a First Great Western service from Cardiff Central to London Paddington were astonished when the train manager made a tannoy announcement saying the train would wait at Swindon station longer so the driver^s fitness to continue could be assessed.

The train manager announced that the assessment had to be undertaken because the driver had been in a ^signal danger^ situation.

One passenger on Tuesday^s 09.55 train from Cardiff who did not wish to be named, said: ^It was a horrendous journey. The train stopped for more than an hour between Bristol Parkway and Swindon. The train manager was very good in giving updates, telling passengers over the tannoy that there was an entire signals blackout west of Swindon and as far as Bath.

^When the train finally got the OK to move forward, it crawled along, having to stop at every signal along the track, continually seeking permission to move forward to the next one. This must have happened about eight times.

^Passengers were generally very calm, despite their frustration, although some were worried about missing flights from Heathrow.

^People were surprised that the train was delayed further at Swindon, because we^d been told the train should be able to move forward at normal speed from there.

^Some of us were astonished to hear that the driver had to be assessed to see whether he was fit to continue. It sounded as if there was concern he could have been traumatised by the delay.

^Fortunately the train then moved forward more quickly and we got to London eventually without further incident.^

The journey to Paddington from Cardiff took four hours and 40 minutes instead of the scheduled time of two hours and five minutes.

A spokeswoman for First Great Western said: ^We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers on board the 0955 from Cardiff on Tuesday.

^As part of our duty of care and safety procedures the driver was interviewed when the train arrived into Swindon. It is disappointing that this added to the delay.

^However safety is our number one priority and the brief interview enabled us to check all was well.

^As an apology for the delay, which was caused by the failure of signal equipment, passengers on this service are receiving a full refund on their tickets and a further complimentary ticket for any First Great Western journey of their choice.

^This can be claimed through our customer service team who can be contacted on 08457 000 125.^

A spokeswoman for Network Rail, which is responsible for the track said: ^The disruption on the Great Western main line was a result of power failure to signalling equipment caused by a defective switch found between Swindon and Hullavington.

^A temporary signalling measure [hand signal] was immediately put in place to enable some trains to run until the fault was repaired at around 14.30.

^A detailed investigation into what caused the switch to fail is currently being carried out.

^The signalling infrastructure on the Great Western main line dates back to the 1980s and recognising that it is nearing its life-expiry, our engineers began designing and planning for a major upgrade around three to four years ago.

^Following funding approval from the Government, work to upgrade the signalling infrastructure on the line started around two years ago.

^The renewal work is being carried out in several phases with the upgrade in Swindon area starting in a year^s time.

^The entire upgrading scheme is around ^300m ^ almost equivalent to the amount invested to upgrade the signalling infrastructure in South Wales ^ and we are working towards completing all the phases before electrification.

^This renewal will significantly improve the infrastructure reliability as all the equipment, including switches, will be modernised or upgraded. The work will also prepare the signalling infrastructure to become compatible with an electrified railway.

^The last time a switch failed on this line was around three years ago.^

I agree too! I was talking to a train driver some time ago who occasionally gets dreams of driving trains and then having a Category B SPAD. Which is where a train passes a signal at danger due to line side equipment failure or signaller error. As what is possibly the case here! They told me that every time it happens they wake up in a big cold sweat and quite often can't get back to sleep! :-X :o

So I could agree definitely that if travelling at line speed which between BPW and SWI is 125MPH to discover a signal at danger after passing a previous green signal... [If the driver told me that dreaming about it causes inability to sleep and a cold sweat...] I couldn't even begin to imagine experiencing the real thing...! Bloody frightening I should imagine!

Doesn't even bear thinking about! :(

I think what this helps to highlight is the lack of understanding by the public of the principles of railway signalling. Most people think it's like a road trffic light where you can be approaching a green signal which changes to amber/red in front of you.

^However safety is our number one priority...."

Um no it isn't, maximising profits for shareholders is. Why do privatised infrastructure monopolies insist on saying "safety is our number one priority" when it is patently untrue.

Disclaimer: i work in an industry that also uses this maxim

I am not for one moment reducing the effect the (Cat B SPAD) event had on the driver but I'm not sure it's realistic to expect the general public to be interested in how signaling works. I think if you tried to explain the principles of it to alot of travellers their eyes would just glaze over!

Using tetminology like "psychological assessment".  Can't they just say to check if the driver was fit to continue.

I disagree. Maximising shareholder profit is essential to any company, but working in a safe environment (and providing one) is more important.

Even a company who only care about shareholder profit are going to care about safety, as profits and share price will go in one direction if a safety breach results in fines/prosecutions.