It may seem like you can never win, every time you go to get that dreaded train it is always delayed! You may be wondering what is causing your train to always be delayed, and here is the answer!
Rail Safety
Many of the problems which happen on railway lines are just from natural causes. This is why that it is important that railway lines are regularly maintained. The maintenance of railway lines will sometimes cause delays if the maintenance is happening during the day. Maintenance will only happen during the day if it is necessary; it may due to an obstruction on the track of some kind.
It is extremely important that railway tracks are safe for trains to travel on before they leave on their journey. To ensure that these tracks are safe for trains to be on, maintenance of the railway line has to happen regularly. Railway maintenance usually happens overnight so it will not affect passenger’s journeys. However, sometimes problems and warnings flare up throughout the day; this means that the track will need to be tested during the day to see what the problem is. Once the issue is found out, this will then be fixed to ensure that the trains are safe to continue travelling on the lines. Whilst the workers are in the tracks carrying out rail safety procedures, this will cause train delays.
Weather
It does not matter whether it is hot, cold or rainy; any of these will cause a delay to your journey believe it or not! Trains are quite similar to cars in this way, different types of weather will slow your journey down in a car and it will do the same on a train journey. When the weather is hot, the overhead wires on a track will sag as the heat is making them expand. To avoid trains getting tangled up in the sagging wires, trains have to slow down until the problem is sorted.
Trains are regularly delayed in the winter; this is due to ice being formed on the tracks. It is unsafe for a train to continue a journey on icy tracks at the usual speed limit, so again just as if you were in a car, trains also have to slow down to avoid accidents occurring on railway lines.
Trains are not delayed unless they have to be, not only does train delays cause havoc to your journey and day but it does also to train companies. The only reasons trains are delayed is to ensure that you are safe whilst travelling on the train.
Ian works as part of a rail safety team to ensure that all trains are safe to travel on. For more information go to www.arbilrail.co.uk/
