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I used the Cotswolds line for work last week for the first time and was fascinated by the ancient signalling. Can anyone tell me how the single line sections are operated please. I saw a sign at Moreton that said obtain token before proceeding - is this a physical token or RETB? I assume it is track circuited on the two outer single line sections?

My trains were reasonably reliable but I can see how the re-doubling will improve the current situation and hopefully provide quicker and more frequent journeys.

You were lucky.

I too find the signally antiqued. There are also a lot of active signal boxes, which I assume will be decommissioned soon, and demolished.

Current set-up is axle-counter working Oxford to Ascott-under-Wychwood, electric tokenless block on the double track Ascott-Moreton-in-Marsh, then hand tokens Moreton-Evesham and Evesham-Norton Junction, outside Worcester (though tokens can be dropped and collected at Worcester Shrub Hill to avoid stopping at the junction signalbox).

And the current intermediate signalboxes are apparently to be retained for the time being - though it will be curtains for the tokens - until either the Oxford or Worcester resignalling projects due post-2014 mean the line can be covered by a large regional signalling centre. All part of keeping the redoubling costs down. The signalling centre being built at Didcot to cover the Thames Valley is probably favourite to take over, with Worcester then being the fringe with a West Midlands centre.

The inadequacies of current arrangements were cruelly exposed again last night. The 17.21 Hereford (abetted by trains from Worcester?) seemed to leave chaos in its wake yet again, so the 17.51 must have been stuck at Oxford or Wolvercot awaiting the single line for about 15 minutes, then got held at Moreton awaiting a hideously late 18.49 from Worcester.

Meanwhile the 18.21 Hereford - which I was on - was catching up fast. It was held briefly at Ascott as the 17.51 hadn't got inside the outer home signal at Moreton, then we got all the way to the said outer home, at about 20.00, a couple of minutes behind due time at Moreton - then sat there for 30 minutes (and rather closer to my house than we were to the station), because the 17.51 was in the station. The 18.49 finally slunk past at about 20.25. We got into Moreton station at 20.30. Glad I wasn't going any further, as the 18.21 was likely to have to wait for another 10 minutes at least before going on to Evesham.

Thanks willc, very interesting. There can't be too many sections left on the national network where physical tokens are required - I assume they use electric token rather than staff and ticket on the two sections mentioned. Come to think of it there must be an electric system if you can deposit the token at Shrub Hill and Honeybourne.

Does this mean that even after the redoubling there still could be problems due to the limited number of block sections?

There certainly will be. Headways for trains following each other will still be in the order of 15 minutes, and all the signal boxes and the inflexible constraints on operation they pose, will remain - including those further down the line at Worcester, Henwick, Newlands, Malvern Wells and Ledbury. However, as long as FGW don't go crazy with extra trains (I doubt they will due to rolling stock shortages) then issues such as last night will be recovered far quicker and won't still be affecting trains until the end of service.

Surely a few intermediate signals here and there would help things?

There are still quite a number about, apart from the age of some of the equipment Token Blocks are a relitivly simple and proven method to keep trains safe on single lines.

Yes autotank, it is electric tokens. Should you pass this way again, keep an eye out for the cabinets on the platforms at Moreton and Evesham where the drivers can collect and deposit tokens from machines released by the signallers, though at Moreton all Oxford-bound drivers still hand over the tokens to the signaller, as the box is at that end of the station.

It would certainly be feasible to provide some intermediate signals if desired as there are plenty of spare levers in both Moreton and Evesham boxes, but the limitations imposed by keeping the two single track sections mean that there is an inbuilt gap between following trains whatever happens. And as Industry Insider notes, an intensive service is unlikely anyway, but an extra section or two between Moreton and Evesham (at the junction at Honeybourne or around Chipping Campden?) would help handle traffic if XC diversions ever came back to the line. BR did sometimes run Oxford-Birmingham diversions on the line until the mid-1990s.

Just to be a bit of an anorak  ;) here - the double line between Moreton-in-Marsh and Ascott-under-Wychwood is not worked under a tokenless block system - it is conventional absolute block (AB) working between the two boxes over a double line.  This system was the conventional method of signalling on double lines until developments such as track-circuit block came along.  Still plenty of it in use on conventionally signalled double lines all over the country.

I think I'm right in saying that Evesham is the last crossing place on Network Rail where conventional (ie controlled by a signal man/woman/er at each end of the section) electric key token (EKT) working operates in both directions.

As you say Key Token working is getting very rare on Network rail.
St Bees the Cumbrian Coast was working KT in both directions in 2004.
There are also several single KT sections such as Rufford to Midge Hall on the old L&Y Ormskirk Preston line.

However, in 2004 there were still 4 consecutative sections on the Ayr  to Stranraer line.
Three ETT and one KT.