Vandals causing hundreds of train service delays

VANDALS caused 63 hours of train delays in Wales last year, according to Network Rail.

Analysis of more than five million records show that there were 573 delays on their Welsh routes in the 12 months from to June 2017 put down to vandalism and theft.

Many of these were knock-on delays caused by earlier problems.

On top of the delays, there were also 47 services that had to be cancelled due to vandalism and theft. Some of these vandals were throwing stones while others started fires near the track.

Arriva Trains Wales also said that cable theft in Abergavenny earlier this year had a “huge impact” on their services across the country. The worst time of the year was a fourweek period beginning in mid-October, when more than a third of all vandalism incidents in Wales took place.

Cardiff was the worst-affected area, with trains coming into and out of Cardiff Central, Queen Street and Grangetown particularly affected.

Elsewhere, Penarth and Treherbert were also affected by vandalism.

Data shows that passengers all over the country had to wait because of vandals and thieves – with the incidents wasting time in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Llandudno, and Bridgend among others.

And across Britain vandals and thieves caused a total of 1,687 hours of train delays – enough time to travel from London to Edinburgh and back by train 180 times.

On top of this were thousands of cancellations, piling further misery on to rail passengers.

Bill Kelly, chief operating officer for Network Rail in Wales and the Borders, said: “Vandalism is not a victimless crime.

“Train delays and cancellations directly affect people going about their daily lives, such as getting to and from work, visiting family and travelling to hospital appointments.

“We want everyone home safe every day, and we are working with our partners at Arriva Trains Wales and British Transport Police to reduce vandalism and minimise disruption to passengers.”

Customer Services Director for Arriva Trains Wales, Lynne Milligan, said: “We are proud to run more than 1,000 services a day for customers the length and breadth of Wales.

“Whilst the performance of those services this year has been consistently strong, incidents of vandalism and theft can have a real impact on our customers.

“We are working closely with the British Transport Police and Network Rail to reduce instances of theft and vandalism which can endanger lives.”

A spokesman for the British Transport Police said: “We investigate every report of vandalism and work closely with Network Rail and Train Operating Companies to prevent and deter incidents from occurring.

“Where suspects are identified, we work tirelessly to bring them before the courts.

“If anyone ever witnesses a train, station or railway being vandalised, please report it to BTP by sending a text to 61016. In an emergency, always call 999.”

David Sidebottom, passenger director at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “We know that passengers want reliable, punctual services most of all and, failing that, they want to be kept informed on delays.

“When trains are delayed or cancelled, it is important that passengers are made aware of their rights to a refund or compensation.”