Leaves on the line hit Shropshire train services
Shropshire train passengers faced delays today because of leaves on the track. It was affecting services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham New Street stations.
Operator London Midland said efforts were underway to clear the railway lines after initially reporting that a train fault had hit services at Telford, resulting in the 8.13am service to Shrewsbury being cancelled altogether.
Services from Telford Central to Birmingham were also delayed by about 10 minutes as a result of the problems.
London Midland spokesman Francis Thomas said: "We have had problems on the line between Shrewsbury and Birmingham since the start of the morning peak caused by the autumn leaf fall which can interfere with the signals and traction. It has been causing delays all morning since about 7am.
"Network Rail is arranging to treat the line as we speak.I wouldn't blame storm Ophelia; this problem with autumn leaves happens every year. The leaves come down, they rot which can make the lines slippy and at that point we have to slow down the trains to ensure safety.
"This sort of thing happens in other countries too. You can only run railways if you can do it safely.
"It will take a while to to clear, but if anyone's journey is delayed by more than half an hour they can claim compensation via our website."
