MAJOR rail signal improvements, which will slash delays to services travelling to and from Swindon, have been started by Network Rail.

The four-year, £400m project is the largest scheme to modernise the 1960s signalling infrastructure on the Great Western main line.

Work to improve the route between Didcot and Swindon and Didcot and Oxford has started and the improvements will continue in 2014 on the route between Swindon and Chippenham, Swindon and Gloucester, and Swindon and Hullavington.

Network Rail said the scheme could help cut delays by 50 per cent. About 25,000 minutes of delays on average each year on the Great Western main line are potentially caused by problems with ageing signalling equipment.

The company, which manages UK rail infrastructure, says the improvement work is also vital to prepare the signalling infrastructure, so it is compatible with an electrified railway. This will enable commuters to get to destinations in the south west at a fraction of the current time.

North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson said: “This is fantastic news for commuters that comes hot on the heels of the major investment already in place for the electrification of the mainline and the doubling of the line to Kemble.

“We have seen significant investment which will be of benefit to the town and commuters and this is something Robert Buckland and I have lobbied very hard for.”

South Swindon MP Robert Buckland said: “This is an important part of the much-needed upgrade to our rail network. With electrification, and improved signalling, plus the doubling of the Swindon to Kemble line, we can look forward to having more trains and better communications to and from London and other parts of the country.”

The signalling upgrade forms part of a ten-year, £5bn plan to transform the Great Western main line. The programme includes electrification, between London and Bristol.

As part of the work, the signalling system which controls the Swindon area will change from a manual system, based in Swindon, to an all-digital system, based at the central signalling centre at Didcot.

About £50m will be invested between Swindon and Chippenham and Swindon and Gloucester.

This work will complement the scheme to redouble the track between Swindon and Kemble, bringing better performance and enabling more trains to run.

Patrick Hallgate, the route managing director for Network Rail Western said: “In a few years’ time, the signalling infrastructure will be considered life-expired. We are ahead of the game by starting the improvements. This programme is a vital building block for the transformation of Great Western.”