Vandals cause delays on trains between Coventry and Brum

[dutchman]

The problems on the trains caused by an arson attack in Canley are set to continue until the end of the day.



Two fires were started in quick succession on the tracks close to Wolfe Road, not far from Canley train station, at around 5.30am this morning.

The ensuing signal problems have caused delays on all lines between Coventry and both New Street and International stations in Birmingham.

There are now delays of up to an hour on services ran by London Midland, Cross Country and Virgin Trains, which are expected to carry on until the end of service on Monday.

To add to the chaos, a train has now broken down between Coventry and Nuneaton, and London Midland says that some services through both stations may now be cancelled.

A number of replacement buses have already been put on between Coventry and Leamington stations, due to the vandalism at Canley, as service providers look ease the problems for customers.

Network Rail has also apologised to passengers, with a statement saying: “We encourage passengers to check with National Rail enquires for the latest travel information.

“We are carrying out repairs and working with all affected train operators to return services to normal as quickly as possible.

“While the cause of the fires near Canley isn’t confirmed at this stage, it does appear to be vandalism and we will be working with the police to trace those responsible.”

The disruption to trains includes: Virgin Trains not calling at Coventry or Birmingham International with some services diverted between Rugby and Birmingham New Street; Cross Country trains affected between Reading and Birmingham New Street/Nottingham/Manchester Piccadilly; and London Midland services affected between Northampton/London Euston and Birmingham New Street/Crewe.

[dutchman]

£30,000 reward offered to catch Canley railway arsonists



A £30,000 reward is being offered in an effort to help catch an arsonist who caused misery for commuters by starting two fires next to a railway line in Canley .

The blaze, which disabled all train signalling equipment between Coventry and Birmingham, delayed hundreds of thousands of passengers on Monday.

Passengers in Glasgow and London were affected too as services in the area were reduced by two thirds.

Cables were set on fire near to Wolfe Road, Canley, at around 6am, causing significant damage to signals.

Today Network Rail and Virgin Trains are both offering £15,000 rewards to anyone who provides information that leads to a successful prosecution.

The arson attack was similar to one in May, which also caused significant delays to passengers in the area.

Det Insp Gareth Davies from British Transport Police said: “This is not a victimless attack on railway infrastructure.

“It would have caused misery to a lot of people’s lives that day and we will never know the number of long awaited hospital appointments, job interviews or overdue family gatherings - all cancelled because of the mindless actions of one individual.

“Since the first incident in May, we have been working hard to find the person responsible, including house to house enquiries, CCTV trawls, media appeals and scenes of crime analysis.

“The railway is a dangerous place and whoever is doing this is putting themselves at great risk. I’m certain someone out there knows who is behind these attacks and I’d urge them to come forward – not only so we can put a stop to these crimes but also to prevent anyone from being seriously hurt.”

Martin Frobisher, from Network Rail, said: “We want help finding the person who did this.

“As well as causing huge disruption to customers, it also cost Network Rail more than £1.1m in compensation payments to train companies, money which could have been spent on further improvements to the railway.”

Call 0800 40 50 40 if you can help.

[rebbonk]

That is a substantial reward!