UK train passengers face more delays

The Hatfield disaster has raised a question mark over the safety of Britain's railway network

LONDON, England -- Thousands of British train passengers are facing more delays and cancellations caused by a huge programme of emergency track repairs.

Railtrack, the national rail operating company, has warned the disruption could last months.

A Railtrack spokeswoman said that 20,000 maintenance staff were out on the 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of track to find and repair cracks similar to those which caused the fatal high-speed train derailment at Hatfield near London on October 17.

The Hatfield crash was Britain's third rail disaster in as many years, sparking fears over the safety of rail travel and pushing Railtrack to rush through what it says is the most extensive overhaul of rail infrastructure for over a century.

"There is a lot of work being carried out across the whole network," the spokeswoman said.

"There are some areas where there is a lot of work due, and we could be looking at a few months rather than a few weeks on these sections," she added.

Railtrack said the company would carry out the bulk of its work at weekends and at night to minimise delays, and added that the level of disruption should fall after Sunday.

Four people died in the Hatfield disaster, causing a public outcry and a re-evaluation of the merits and results of privatising the country's rail system.

The crash was the latest of a series to hit the network.

Seven people died in a September 1997 crash in Southall, in the capital's western suburbs. In October 1999, an accident just outside London's Paddington station claimed 31 lives.

Railway lines were closed over the weekend in southwest Scotland and speed limits of 20-30 miles per hour (32-48 kph) were set at 270 locations around the country.

Train companies cancelled some trains and warned of delays of up to two hours on mainline services.

Midland Mainline, which runs trains between London and central England, went as far as urging people not to travel on Sunday if they could avoid it.

"We are looking at providing about half the normal service, with journey times extended by two hours," a spokesman said.

"We have got a huge number of passengers, and if you are only travelling for a day trip to London, for example, we would suggest you postpone that."

An Internet site run by the Association of Train Operating Companies, www.nationalrail.co.uk, detailed dozens of train cancellations and delays. It said the assessment of track safety should be completed by November 8.

Adding to Railtrack's woes was a report in Britain's News of The World paper, in which it printed a memo sent by a contractor working for Railtrack.

The paper alleges that the highly technical memo essentially told safety workers not to repair track faults immediately because it was not cost effective to do so.

The paper said the memo was sent to safety crews by a senior safety official at a company contracted to maintain one quarter of Railtrack's track. Railtrack is investigating the report.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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