Vandals not to blame for rail signal fault (From Western Telegraph)

Vandals not to blame for rail signal fault

Fears that vandals were responsible for a peak hour signalling failure on a stretch of Pembrokeshire railway line have proved to be false.

Passengers on the Clarbeston Road to Milford Haven line were delayed on Thursday morning because of what Railtrack described as a track circuit failure.

According to early morning reports on radio travel bulletins, the circuit had been vandalised, leading to the cancellation of the service between Johnston and Milford Haven.

It later transpired that the blame lay with an electrical fault and services were running slightly behind schedule.

We have had problems with vandalism on railway lines in Pembrokeshire in the past, but there is nothing to suggest that this was what happened on this occasion, said a Railtrack spokesman.

Early indications may have led staff to believe that this was the case. It was nothing more than electrical fault which can happen occasionally. It was repaired and normal services were restored the same morning."

The fault created a hiccup in what is regarded as the peak morning service.

Journeys were delayed from 6.20 am, but normal service resumed three hours later after the fault was located and rectified.

A Railtrack official travelled in the cab as an extra precautionary measure. Each train was held up by five minutes and the delays in total amounted to only 25 minutes.

The track circuit regulates the signalling on a railway line and, while the fault was being repaired, a manual pilot system was in operation.

There was no major impact on services to our passengers, added the companys spokesman.