Rail firm says ^350m boost signals an end to the delays
Chris Bates, chairman of Cherwell Rail Users^ Group, who commutes from Banbury to London daily, at Banbury Railway StationSignalling problems affect Oxfordshire rail passengers twice a working week, an Oxford Mail investigation has found.
In the three months since May there have been 27 signalling problems which affected trains running through the county.
First Great Western (
FGW▸ ) issued alerts on Twitter about 24 of those, while Chiltern Railways was affected by two and CrossCountry by one.
Signals are mechanical or electrical devices that tell train drivers about speed limits, blockages or the movement of other trains.
While it is the train companies that are affected by signaling problems, it is the responsibility of Network Rail to maintain and fix any equipment. The company has blamed old equipment for the recurring problems.
Spokeswoman Victoria Bradley said: ^As part of our modernisation programme we are investing ^350m to resignal the Great Western route. The signalling technology we have inherited dates back to the 1960s. This programme will boost performance and reliability.^
She said: ^We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by recent signalling problems and acknowledge that our modernisation programme will take time to complete. In the meantime, working with FGW, we have put in place additional maintenance teams between Paddington, Reading and Oxford to improve our system^s reliability.^
Chris Bates, chairman of Chiltern Rail Users^ Group, said: ^Why don^t they do preventative maintenance? The equipment is obviously old and requires replacing. Everything has got a shelf life. They shouldn^t wait for the stuff to expire before they do any work.^
Mr Bates, who commutes from Banbury to London every day, said: ^Once it goes it immediately causes everybody a problem.^
Guy Dangerfield, manager at watchdog Passenger Focus, said: ^Passengers tell us that punctual trains are what they want most from the railway. Recently passengers travelling to and from the Oxford area have faced a number of delays, so it is essential that Network Rail steps up its efforts to improve reliability and quickly fix problems when they do occur.^
Oxford East
MP▸ Andrew Smith said: ^It simply isn^t good enough for these problems to be dragging on like this and subjecting travellers to repeated delays. One of the justifications always given for repeated fare increases is that the money is being used for investment. I am writing to Network Rail to urge them to get a move on and sort out these signalling issues once and for all.^
James Davis, a FGW spokesman, said: ^We understand the frustration caused by the recent delays. Everyone at FGW and Network Rail is determined to see improvements. Recently there have been a number of infrastructure problems with points and signals, and disappointingly we have also had some fleet issues too. We have developed a Thames Valley Performance Plan. This includes a number of joint actions including FGW staff now working in Network Rail teams to improve liaison and ensure good communication during improvement works, and in-depth reviews of recurring problems.^
CrossCountry spokesman Richard Gibson said: ^Any delay to our trains is disappointing as it can affect so many of our customers. We know Network Rail is investing huge sums of money to upgrade Britain^s railways and we will work closely with them to ensure all our services, including those through Oxfordshire, benefit from this.^
Chiltern Railways operations and safety director Andrew Munden said: ^We have a strong working relationship with Network Rail and recently recorded our highest ever performance figures. This is testament to the hard work of staff across the business and our partners at Network Rail.^
Department for Transport spokesman Paul Starbrook said: ^Passengers expect to get to their destination on time and without disruption. More than ^38bn will be spent on improving and maintaining the network and buying new trains over the next five years.^
Purely in the interests of accuracy, I rather think Chris Bates is chairman of the Cherwell Rail Users' Group, rather than the Chiltern Rail Users' Group - but perhaps it's not for
