COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Rail services between Coventry and Birmingham International have been cancelled after two fires damaged signals.



London Midland said it was alerted to signal failures between Canley and Hampton in Arden at about 00:30 BST.

Engineers said they arrived to find a cable fire, while another fire was started in the Tile Hill area.

London Midland said it believed they were caused by vandalism. British Transport Police is investigating.

The train operator said the fires had caused "significant damage", with more than 20 cables affected.

Some Virgin Trains services have also been cancelled, while others face delays of about an hour.

Buses are running between Birmingham International and Coventry.

Meanwhile, CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Leamington Spa are being diverted via Solihull.

Travellers in the area were already facing a number of delays and cancellations due to planned engineering works over the bank holiday weekend.

Network Rail has advised passengers to check with National Rail Enquiries before travelling.

Police put up £15,000 reward after double Tile Hill railway line arson attack



Arsonists caused half a million pounds worth of disruption and significant damage by starting two fires close to railway lines in Tile Hill on the same night.

Now Network Rail has put up a £15,000 reward for information leading to a conviction following the incidents on May 2.

The first fire, on the railway line between Tile Hill and Canley, was spotted by a train driver at 1.30am.

By the time fire crews had put out the blaze another fire had been discovered a mile down the line near Tile Hill station.

As a result 75 trains were cancelled and 2,500 more were delayed.

Sgt Marcos Dominguez, from British Transport Police, said: “I want to hear from anyone who witnessed these incidents, or who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area late on Friday night or early on Saturday morning.

“We believe both fires were started deliberately with the intention to cause damage and disruption to the rail network, possibly in connection with someone trying to steal railway cable.

“Luckily no one was injured as a result of these fires but the result could have been much worse.

“This was an extremely serious incident and I urge anyone with any information which could help the investigation to get in touch immediately.”

Police searched the area after both fires but couldn’t find anyone.

The railway lines had to be powered down while police and fire crews dealt with the situation.

Patrols have been stepped up in the area and CCTV is being gathered from businesses and other premises nearby as officers continue their investigation.

Liam Sumpter, area director for Network Rail, said: “These fires caused significant delay and disruption to passengers.

“It is believed they were started deliberately and we want to catch those responsible to prevent them from repeating these dangerous, criminal acts.

“I urge anyone with any information to come forward as quickly as possible.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016, quoting reference MSUB/B4 of 19/05/15.

To give evidence anonymously call the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.