'Catalogue of failings' led to Xmas rail chaos

The report into the chaos at Christmas when engineering works ran late has identified a 'catalogue of failings'.

Passengers were left stranded as no trains ran between Reading and Paddington on December 27th.

The report just made public by Network Rail reveals that engineering work near Heathrow did in fact end on time but safety checks to declare signals safe took ten hours which is five times longer than it should have.

There was confusion over when services would run, leaving passengers not knowing when they could travel.

Now the amount of time engineering works take will be reviewed and in future they may be carried out in the summer when there is better weather allowing for less chance of overruns.

MPs will question Network Rail Chief Executive Mark Carne on the report on Wednesday.