Another morning of misery for rail passengers

The late finish of engineering work was the cause of hold-ups between Swinton and Sheffield, while there were delays and overcrowding on routes from Ilkley into Leeds and Bradford.

Northern Rail had to put on buses between Huddersfield and Halifax due to a “lineside equipment problem” near Brighouse, while SWT passengers suffered delays between Yeovil Junction and Salisbury due to a signalling problem.

Greater Anglia services were delayed between Walton-on-the-Naze/Clacton and Colchester due to a signalling problem.

A broken-down train near Bedford led to delays to services between Bedford and London.

Another bout of late-running engineering work caused delays to First Great Western services between Gunnislake and Bere Alston in Devon, with buses having to replace trains.

November has proved a difficult month for rail travellers, with rush-hour delays on many mornings, as hard-pressed commuters await the double whammy of colder, darker days and the average 4.2% rise in season ticket prices in January.

Delays continued through the morning, with flooding in parts of Scotland adding to travellers’ woes. A signalling problem at Grove Park in south east London led to hold-ups for Southeastern train company passengers between Bromley North and Grove Park.

A vehicle hitting a bridge at Berkswell in the West Midlands caused delays to services between Birmingham International and Coventry.

There were also delays between Manchester Piccadilly and Romiley via Bredbury in north west England due to a broken-down train at Brinnington.