Landslip delay for Paddington trains

Commuters travelling into Paddington from the West face severe disruption after a landslip cut the main route into the station.

The line - which is used by up to 60,000 people a day - was closed after an embankment collapsed on to the London-bound track during maintenance work between Swindon and Didcot. Engineers estimate it will be Wednesday before the line is working properly again.

Train operator First Great Western immediately announced plans to switch to an emergency timetable until engineers clear the line.

Only two trains an hour will run in each direction and a 20mph speed restriction has been imposed on the stretch of line close to the landslip.

A spokesman for First Great Western said: "It will put the squeeze on regular commuters. But it won't mean they can't travel, just that there will be fewer trains and fewer seats. That could lead to some overcrowding.

"The landslip has undermined the earth and made the entire track unusable. We know there has been some rain recently, and that can undermine the way the network functions."

First Great Western officials quickly notified local radio and television stations of the landslip in an effort to make commuters aware of potential disruptions before they set out on their journeys this morning.

First Great Western has been badly hit by rail disruptions over the past few years, including the Paddington train crash which killed 31 people in October 1999.

Fresh delays as a result of the landslip will add to disappointment among passengers who suffered 759 delays in a year of rail chaos after the fatal crash at Hatfield last year.

In spite of what the Rail Passengers' Council called the worst series of delays on the railways for decades, Railtrack has estimated that delays will rise by 36 per cent during the next year.