FRUSTRATED rail passengers have been reassured by Network Rail that it is working to solve signalling problems – but it could take up to a decade.

Signalling problems have affected Oxfordshire rail passengers on average once every week, an Oxford Mail investigation has found.

In the eight months since August there have been 46 signalling problems affecting the county, the equivalent of one every 5.5 days.

First Great Western trains was the firm most badly affected, with the network tweeting about 22 issues since February. It has dropped since the first Oxford Mail investigation found that between May and August there were 27 signalling problems, the equivalent of two every working week.

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 signalling problems, it is the responsibility of Network Rail to maintain and fix any equipment.

In August the company blamed old equipment and vowed to fix problems.

Network Rail spokeswoman Victoria Bradley said it would take years to solve the issues, with the company having strategies for the county until 2025.

She said: “When running any machine, which is effectively what the rail network is, with as many moving parts as this things will inevitably fail and go wrong.

“We are minimising the effects of this by installing the most up-todate and reliable equipment available.”

First Great Western spokesman James Davis said: “We recognise that in the past two weeks there have been significant infrastructure challenges on key parts of our network.

“Everyone at First Great Western and Network Rail is determined to see improvements and we are working hard with Network Rail to help them deliver improvements for us.”

Last week The Sunday Times reported that CrossCountry Trains, which runs services between Oxford and Bournemouth, has the worst punctuality in the country after an investigation.

Only 43 per cent of its trains arrived on time in the past three years. But the firm said it was responsible for less than 10 per cent of delays to its services in that time.

Mike Hewitson, head of policy at watchdog Transport 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 fixes problems when they do occur.

“Also, when services are disrupted the industry must work really hard to give passengers plenty of notice and to be on hand to provide them with help and information.”

Chairman of the Chiltern Rail Users’ Group Chris Bates said: “They need to employ more staff, pure and simple.

“Signal testers and so on are retiring and leaving the industry and those left are struggling with age-old equipment.

“It causes problems for people travelling and it elongates people’s working days.”

But he added: “Things are slowly improving.

“It will eventually end up being hunky-dory once they’ve replaced everything – but it’s a lot of pain for the gain.”

Network Rail's statement

NETWORK Rail spokeswoman Victoria Bradley said: “The problem is that we are dealing with a legacy of underinvestment in the railway which means that we have a signalling system made up of a mixture of interlinked equipment dating back to the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

“While safe, it would be fair to say that equipment of this age experiences more ‘wear and tear’ related issues than new more modern signalling equipment.

“This is why long-term we do not want to ‘patch up’ the existing system we have.

We want to completely replace it with new modern technology.

“We are minimising the effects of this by installing the most up-to-date and reliable equipment available, maintaining it to the highest standards and repairing it as quickly as possible when it does fail.

“That said, we are reversing a history of underinvestment and under-maintenance in the railway as a whole since the Second World War, whilst still operating one of the busiest networks in Europe. This will not be done overnight.

“The fact that we can only undertake major work such as re-signalling when trains aren’t running, together with the fact that we are replacing signalling equipment across the Western route means that our modernisation programme is a long-term project.

“Signalling as a term covers a wide range of control and safety systems. As well as actual lineside signals it includes track circuits, axle counters, treadles, point monitors and actuators and high-tech communications systems, all of which are critical for safety.”

What you say

Neil Warriner, Oxford, solicitor, 53: “It was particularly noticeable after the Easter engineering works, there were lots of problems after that.”

Sarah Parry, Reading, optician at the John Radcliffe Hospital, 30: “I’m getting used to signalling problems. There are more difficulties when I’m trying to get home.”

Philip Earnshaw, Hanborough, school transport manager, 46: “It’s worst in the mornings. Unfortunately it’s been a very marked increase recently.”

Strahil Lepoev, Botley, research assistant: “I travel two or three times a week so I would have thought I’d be affected but I haven’t at all.”