Trains back on as rail repairs finished early

TRAIN services from Bristol to Devon and Cornwall were due to start running again today after repairs finished ahead of schedule.

Services were hit when the River Exe burst its banks and caused damage to the track, with travellers facing delays after buses had to be brought in to replace services.

But Network Rail spokesman John Baker said lessons had been learned from flooding last month, allowing the rail company to get trains back on track far more quickly.

Mr Baker said: "We have learned some lessons from the flooding in November and done some things differently. There's nothing that we could do to prevent the River Exe bursting its banks and causing the track damage but we have done some things proactively to minimise damage to the signalling.

"In November it took three or four days to fix the track where the ballast had washed away, but nearly three weeks to repair the damage to the signalling equipment.

"This time we used temporary dams to divert the flow of the water away from the lineside signalling equipment. This is the first time this technology has ever been used on the railway in Britain and it seems to have helped contain the damage well so far."

Some signalling equipment had been removed ahead of the flooding and stored in a dry place so that it could be reinstalled undamaged after the water had gone down.

"A lot of network operations people have worked tirelessly through the Christmas holiday period when they hadn't planned to, restoring the railway as quickly as possible," he said.

Train operators Cross Country and First Great Western have been advised that tracks in both directions between Bristol and Exeter will be available for use from noon today – 18 hours ahead of schedule.

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