MORE than 200 trains to or from Helensburgh have been disrupted in the last two years because of the failure of an important piece of safety equipment.

According to figures obtained by the town's MSP, Jackie Baillie, failing axle counters at Craigendoran have caused 154 trains to run late, 29 to be cancelled, and 42 to be partly cancelled since April 2017.

But the MSP says there could be good news on the way – because Network Rail, which is responsible for maintaining the track and other railway infrastructure, has plans to upgrade its signalling system in the area this month.

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As their name suggests, axle counters are used to count the number of train axles which pass over them in a given period.

If the number counted by the equipment is lower than expected, the signalling system ‘thinks’ there is still a train in the area, and means signals nearby will display red ‘danger’ lights until the issue can be investigated by engineers.

Ms Baillie said: “I am delighted that the axle counters at Craigendoran are scheduled for replacement within the next funding period.

“Passengers travelling through Craigendoran have been affected by the problems with the axle counters for a long time. They are, rightly, sick of late running and cancelled trains caused by outdated equipment."

In context, the 225 disrupted services represent a tiny fraction of the total number of passenger-carrying trains – almost 52,000 – scheduled to travel to and from Helensburgh Central alone over the two year period.

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A Network Rail spokesman told the Advertiser: “Axle-counters are an important part of our signalling systems – helping to control how many trains are in each section of track.

“The axle-counters in this location are due to be upgraded as part of our £4bn, five-year plan to improve Scotland’s railway.

“In the short-term, we have also put in place additional equipment to help improve the performance of the axle-counters and have increased our routine maintenance of the equipment.”