DISTURBANCES at the site of the town's Train Care Depot has forced the council to take action to help nearby residents experiencing 'sleepless nights'.

Great Western Railway (GWR) and Network Rail have both been served a nuisance abatement notice by Reading Borough Council following concerns on Cardiff Road.

Councillors believe neither company has put forward necessary suggestions to mitigate the problem following delays to the electrification of the western line.

Tony Page, lead councillor for Environment, Planning and Transport, said: “It is regrettable that the council has had to take this action, but it follows years of inactivity from both GWR and Network Rail on this important issue.

"In the meantime residents in Cardiff Road continue to suffer from noise disturbance and sleepless nights as a result of the noisy diesel trains that continue to be serviced from the enlarged Reading Train Care Depot.

“If electrification had been delivered on time, it would have meant by the end of 2017 far fewer diesel trains would have been serviced in Reading.

"The recent collapse of the electrification programme and the lack of any clarity of timescales, means there is no end in sight to the misery for local residents."

Earlier this year, the Government announced major delays to the electrification project, which means diesel trains will continue to be serviced at the Reading Train Care Depot.

Reading Chronicle:

Once a statutory nuisance has been established, the local authority has a duty to serve the legal notice.

Network Rail established the depot in 2013 and made a commitment to keep noise to an acceptable level, but resident have continued to complain, prompting the council to take action.

A spokesman for GWR added: “We are disappointed to receive the notice less than six weeks before electric vehicles replace almost half of the noisier diesel trains operating from the depot. We expect this change will significantly alter the noise characteristics of the site.

“We take our responsibilities as a good neighbour and reliable train operator very seriously.  We have to balance those responsibilities with the requirements of running a reliable train service and complying with our legal obligations. 

"The nature of this balance has been at the heart of our discussions with officers and councillors at Reading Borough Council over the past four years.

“We believe we have taken all practical steps to minimise the operations of the railway at the depot, making a number of changes to the physical infrastructure there, and the way we operate the depot."

Network Rail have been approached for comment.