SCORES of Swindon commuters trying to get to work were thwarted by train cancellations.

Cable damage led to drastically reduced services between Reading and London Paddington throughout yesterday, just as it had on Sunday.

Swindon-based train operator First Great Western was running an emergency timetable until last night, when services were slowly returning to normal.

Company spokeswoman Elaine Wilde said: "Services to London were halved, from seven trains every hour to three or four.

"They will return to normal when Network Rail are able to rectify the problem."

Commuter Jeremy Smith, who travels by train from Bath to Swindon every day, was furious because his journey took three times longer than usual.

He said: "It has taken me an hour and a half to get here.

"This is the single most appalling service I can think of. Come to think of it, the service is non-existent."

Train journeys were returning to normal this morning, once the cable repairs were completed in Twyford, near Reading. Jane Vincent, spokeswoman for Network Rail, said: "We apologise for the disruption and assure passengers that we are working without rest to resolve the problem."

Only last week, passengers endured disruption between Paddington and the South West because of a project to replace and maintain track.

The work by Network Rail, directly affected First Great Western Services to and from Devon, Cornwall, Taunton, Castle Cary, Westbury, Newbury and Pewsey.

Last month Transport Minister Kim Howells visited Swindon on a rail service fact-finding mission to discover why one in five trains don't arrive on time.

His train was 14 minutes late and the message board at the station said punctuality was running at 74 per cent 16 per cent below FGW's target.

Mr Howells was in Swindon as part of a tour of various locations in which he has met and listened to the ideas and concerns of Network Rail staff.

He pledged to bear in mind their concerns when formulating strategies for improving the infrastructure of the service.

He also said the Government was spending £73m a week in order to improve the experience of the travelling public and tempt them away from their cars and onto public transport.

According to the latest Government figures, Swindon station handles almost 2.5m passenger transactions a year, whether from people arriving, departing or meeting connecting trains.

The Government claims that four out of every five trains run on time.

Victoria Tagg