Passengers warned after rail mayhem

Rail passengers were today warned to check before they travel after thousands of people were left stranded in the West Midlands when services were cancelled due to signalling problems.

Hundreds travelling in and out of Birmingham New Street station last night faced delays of more than two hours after a fault just outside the station was reported at about 10.10am.

This led to a disrupted service throughout the day on some services to and from London and the east of England.

Many trains were cancelled, diverted or were terminating outside Birming- ham. Train operator Net-work Rail said the problems had been caused by electrical faults possibly caused by the freezing temperatures.

Services were expected to return to normal today but operators, including Virgin Trains which runs trains through Wolverhampton and Stafford, warned travellers to prepare themselves for delays and longer than usual journeys.

London Midland had suspended all services in and out of Birmingham though they are also expected to resume today. Network Rail have also put an emergency timetable in place.

Commuters are advised to call the hotline on 0845 301 7641 or visit www.net workrail.co.uk before starting their journey.

A 50mph speed limit and narrow lanes on the M6 are to be extended from J10 to J8 once the weather has thawed, it emerged today.

The latest phase of work in preparation for hard shoulder running on the motorway to start in 2011 was to begin last night but has been delayed because of the freezing temperatures and will not be introduced this weekend.

However the Highways Agency said work will start as soon as possible and a meeting is due on Monday to decide when to begin.