Infrastructure

UK: Soaring level of disruption on the rail network

This is Bristol,15 November, 2011

TRAIN passengers and companies are paying a heavy price for the havoc being wrought on railway lines by metal thieves.

First Great Western, which runs most services in Bristol and the surrounding area, says the number of cable thefts has almost doubled in two years, with 30 times as many services cancelled so far this year than in the whole of 2009.

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The soaring level of disruption was revealed in evidence from First to a committee of MPs.

The company said that so far this year 117 incidents of theft had led to 381 trains being cancelled and 26,871 minutes of delays.

In 2009, there were just 61 incidents, leading to 13 cancellations and 4,416 minutes of delays.

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