A TRAIN drivers’ union has called for Network Rail to introduce heated points on a North-East branch line following several delays due to winter weather.

The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef) believes several recent delays on the Bishop Auckland to Saltburn line because of frozen points could put its future in jeopardy.

But Network Rail say heated points would cost tens of thousands of pounds, and they prepare carefully for snow, bringing in staff early to allow manual warming of points and keep the network running as smoothly as possible.

Representatives from the union told The Northern Echo four trains had been delayed in the last fortnight because of frozen points at Shildon and Heighington.

They said one train was left waiting for two hours for a Network Rail employee to manually unfreeze the Shildon point to allow the 6pm train from Bishop Auckland to proceed on Saturday, December 19.

The train was then held up mid-journey for another hour as the same employee was delayed on icy roads, driving to Heighington to unfreeze that point.

John Clark, secretary of the Darlington Aslef branch, said Heighington and Shildon were some of the most vulnerable points in the area and were usually the first to freeze.

“The damage their repeated failure does to the viability of the line is difficult to quantify - but it won’t be positive,” he said.

“Workers heading for Aycliffe industrial estate as well as to places beyond had their employment prospects put at risk again by railway industry in difference.

“Network Rail refuses to fit point heating at Heighington and Shildon, claiming it is not cost effective.

“Apart from the thousands of pounds paid in compensation to the train operator, they are not above wasting thousands more each year, sending workers every morning to check the points work before the passage of the first train - money that would pay for point heaters on guard all day for every train.”

A spokeswoman for Network Rail confirmed there were no heaters at Shildon and Heighington.

She said fitting heaters to points cost tens of thousands of pounds.

She said: “We do prepare carefully for snow, getting regular updates from our forecasters and planning resources accordingly.

“We bring in staff extra early when poor conditions are forecast to get to the points before the trains run and clear snow and ice.

“Clearly there are times when snow falls or ice forms during the day and our staff get to these and clear them as quickly as possible.

“The performance of the network is of utmost importance to us and we do all we can to keep trains running. “On occasions where there are issues we respond as quickly as possible in order to keep any delay to a minimum.”