RAILWAY bosses have issued an apology to passengers following two evenings of disruption at the West’s main London terminus.

No trains could get in or out of London Paddington on Wednesday or Thursday evening following signalling problems.

Mark Hopwood, the managing director of Great Western Railway (GWR), and Network Rail’s managing director of the Western Route Mark Langman issued a joint apology yesterday.

“We fully recognise the scale of the disruption to the many passengers who experienced difficulties travelling, and we are extremely sorry for the challenges it caused,” they said.

“Network Rail had teams on the ground to fix the problem as soon as possible, but it took considerably longer than we would have liked before the signalling was restored at 8.18pm, allowing GWR to start running trains again.

“Network Rail is now conducting an immediate investigation into the cause of this failure and putting in place additional measures to reinforce signalling equipment in the area until the results of the investigation are known, and a permanent solution is in place.”

Passengers whose journeys were delayed by the fault are advised to visit the GWR website to see if they may be entitled to compensation.

The disruption comes amid a nine-day closure of the line between Swindon and Chippenham which begins today as part of Network Rail’s electrification project.

Rail replacement buses will be operating between Swindon and Chippenham until Sunday, July 16, while the work is carried out, and passengers are being advised to check the timing of services at www.gwr.com before leaving.

Samantha Patterson, Network Rail scheme sponsor, said: “This investment at Dauntsey is key to modernising the railway through the area and providing passengers with a better, more reliable railway."