TRAINS in and out of Bristol were delayed by vandalism and a fire near a railway line.
At about 4.15am yesterday signalling cable caught fire, or was set on fire, near Shepton Walk, Bedminster.
Later in the morning cable damage was discovered outside the city on the line from Temple Meads to Taunton. The disruption continued into the evening.
A First Great Western spokesman said: "Due to cable vandalism just outside of Bristol, fewer trains were able to run on all lines between Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton.
"Services running through these stations were delayed by up to 40 minutes, revised at short notice or cancelled."
Passengers had to take buses between Temple Meads, Bedminster Parade and Weston-super-Mare, with regular bus services accepting rail tickets.
The delays were expected to continue until cable could be replaced and tested.
A British Transport Police spokesman said officers were keeping an open mind as to whether the fire in the morning was arson.
He said: "The fire was reported by the driver of a passing train at about 4.15am. Network Rail engineers also attended the scene and extinguished the fire prior to officers arriving at the scene.
"An investigation is underway and enquiries are ongoing in the local area to establish the full circumstances."
Anyone with information should call BTP on 0800 405040, quoting incident reference 40 of 22/05/2012.
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