Ex-rail man 'sabotaged' network

A former rail worker has gone on trial accused of causing millions of pounds worth of damage to the rail network.

Allan Nicol, 48, "sabotaged" the system by cutting signal cables and starting a "massive fire" in a building, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Nicol admits carrying out 12 attacks between 2004 and 2005 but denies arson with intent to endanger life and reckless criminal damage.

Some attacks were in Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

Knowledge of network

The court was told Mr Nicol set out to cause maximum disruption and financial loss by damaging the cable which ran alongside the West Coast Mainline.

Thousands of passengers were caught up in severe delays which also caused a huge loss to Network Rail, prosecutor Timothy Mousley said.

He added the first incidents were on 12 and 14 June 2004, when Mr Nicol allegedly cut through cabling using pliers or a bolt cutter at Kingsbury Junction, Warwickshire, which took engineers 19 hours to repair.

His jobs first as a track worker and then in the recruitment of railway workers gave him extensive knowledge of the network.

'Maximum interference'

About 14 months later, Mr Nicol allegedly set out on a second spate of acts of vandalism with the final incident taking place on 3 November 2005 when he used a "great quantity of flammable liquid" to set fire to a relay room in Rugeley, Staffordshire.

The fire destroyed signalling cables and relay switches.

"His actions caused trains to come to a standstill over a very large part of the country causing paralysis for many hours on end," Mr Mousley said.

He added that "widespread and large-scale sabotage" had caused "maximum interference to the railway system, to passenger traffic, to freight traffic and huge financial loss to Network Rail".

The trial continues.