A SCREECHING noise that has blighted the summer of those living along the train track between Strawberry Hill and Twickenham should come to end as Network Rail finally agreed to fix a problem on the track.
Those worse effected were people living in Grange Avenue, Strawberry Hill, where residents reported a loud, high pitched noise every time a train passed over the track.
Diana Harrison said the noise had become unbearable in the past few months. “It started about six months ago but has been getting louder and over the summer. During the summer it's been especially bad because we've had to keep the windows shut at night because it wakes us up.
“I contacted South West Trains and to Network Rail who seemed to keep blaming each other. Nothing was getting done. I even wrote a letter and asked all my neighbours to sign it. It was only when Vince Cable got involved that they seemed to listen to me.”
Local MP Vince Cable said: “A significant number of residents are being disturbed by the noise problem. I have encountered something similar before, further along the same track. On that occasion one family found the noise so intolerable that they had to move out!
“Buck passing between Network Rail and the train operator doesn't help.”
A spokesman for Network Rail admitted any problems with tracks would be their responsibility and confirmed work to sort out the problem was under way. “We have looked into the complaint about noisy tracks between Strawberry Hill and Twickenham and believe the problem is being caused by a blocked joint.
“We have scheduled for a maintenance team to carry out some work to address this later this month.”
Is your sleep disturbed by trains? Tell us your experiences by posting a comment below.
