Passengers turn up heat on rail bosses

By nhoodless

RAIL bosses have come under fire from exasperated passengers using troubled train services.

This week has been horrendous for the tens of thousands who have to travel on the main line through mid-Essex but it is not the first time we have seen major disruptions this year.

Commuters have been hit by a string of major delays since January caused by bridge collapses, over-running engineering works and power problems.

The latest trouble started when the 5.20pm service from London Liverpool Street pulled down more than a mile of overhead power lines at Ingatestone on Monday, paralysing all train services.

By Tuesday morning, one line had reopened and there was a very restricted service supported by replacement buses.

Barry Stiff, of London Road, Chelmsford, said on Tuesday: “It is dreadful – there is no information being given out and the trains that are running have only eight carriages.

“There are people hanging out the doors before they even get here. The service is terrible.”

Mark Leslie, co-ordinator of the Essex Federation of Rail Users, said: “The problem seems to be that the warm weather causes the copper inside the cable to expand and sag.

“We had all this two years ago and it seems Network Rail still haven't got the cables up to standard and that is causing thousands of customers a huge amount of inconvenience.”

Richard Huggins, chairman of the Ingatestone Rail Users Association, has called for nationalisation of the railways.

“If there is extensive damage, it does take time to repair it, particularly these days because you have Network Rail in charge of the lines, someone else running the trains and contractors are involved as well.”

A Network Rail spokesperson admitted the overhead cables dated from the 1960s and were in dire need of repairs.

“We are replacing 30 miles of overhead cables from London Liverpool Street to Chelmsford at a cost of £150million. That work began earlier this year.”

Commuters have hit out at rail bosses and station staff for not giving clear instructions and information but Rebecca Richardson, of train operator National Express East Anglia advised passengers to check the company's website before travelling.

●Two Network Rail engineers were seriously injured on Wednesday afternoon while working to repair the damaged cables.

A cherry picker collapsed near Margaretting while the men, employees of Network Rail, inspected repair work. Another man who was standing close to the machinery when it collapsed, suffered slight injuries.

One of the workers was airlifted to Queen's Hospital, Romford suffering from head, chest and leg injuries. The other two were taken by road to the hospital, one had leg injuries and no details are known about the third casualty.

Ambulances were called at 1.55pm and railway lines into and out of Liverpool Street station were closed for around an hour and a half following the accident.

Northbound services out of London, already affected by work on the overhead cables, resumed around 3.30pm but at restricted speeds and on a reduced service.

EDITOR'S COMMENT: p26