Late-running railway engineering work means Monday morning misery for commuters

A series of problems, including late-running engineering work, meant rail commuters endured further rush-hour travel misery today.

There were early-morning delays to South West Trains (SWT) services between Woking and Guildford in Surrey and in the south west London area due to the late finish of engineering work.

This was also the cause of hold-ups between Swinton and Sheffield, while Greater Anglia services were delayed between Walton-on-the-Naze/Clacton and Colchester due to a signalling problem.

A broken-down train near Bedford led to delays to services between Bedford and London.

Another bout of late-running engineering work caused delays to First Great Western services between Gunnislake and Bere Alston in Devon, with buses having to replace trains.

The Northern Rail train company had to put on buses between Huddersfield and Halifax in West Yorkshire due to a lineside equipment problem near Brighouse, while SWT passengers suffered delays between Yeovil Junction and Salisbury due to a signalling problem.

November has proved a difficult month for rail travellers, with rush-hour delays on many mornings, as hard-pressed commuters await the double whammy of colder, darker days and the average 4.2% rise in season ticket prices in January.

Delays continued through the morning, with flooding in parts of Scotland adding to travellers' woes.

A signalling problem at Grove Park in south east London led to hold-ups for Southeastern train company passengers between Bromley North and Grove Park.

A vehicle hitting a bridge at Berkswell in the West Midlands caused delays to services between Birmingham International and Coventry.

There were also delays between Manchester Piccadilly and Romiley via Bredbury in north west England due to a broken-down train at Brinnington.

The flooding in Scotland led to hold-ups between East Kilbridge and Glasgow Central and also between Port Glasgow and Paisley Gilmour Street.

PA