Theft and faults hit rail services

A fresh incident of railway cable theft, coupled with signalling problems and faulty trains, caused disruption to train and Tube travellers today.

The latest cable theft, following a spate of incidents in recent weeks, disrupted services at Rotherham station in South Yorkshire this morning.

Buses replaced trains between Swinton and Meadowhall (Sheffield) via Rotherham Central, with journey times extended by up to 20 minutes all morning.

A broken-down train caused disruption in the Great Bentley area of Essex, leading to delays of up to 40 minutes to trains between Thorpe-le-Soken and Colchester.

Faulty trains and signal failure led to delays on London Underground during the morning rush-hour.

PA