IT’S hard to imagine a worse week for commuters. Drivers on Oxfordshire’s roads were stuck in traffic queues for hours on Monday because of roadworks around the city.

And the experience for rail passengers has been just as bad, with some Oxfordshire commuters enduring five-hour journeys into London because of signalling problems.

A new Thames Valley signalling centre has now been built in Didcot, to tie in with the Government’s latest programme of electrification.

But until all the new signalling equipment is provided, Network Rail will have to struggle on with ageing kit.

However, it is understood that Monday’s problems were prompted by a contractor drilling through a main signal cable in London and it is difficult to legislate against that.

Network Rail has apologised, but many passengers will want to be compensated for their troubled journeys on the Great Western Main Line.

First Great Western is encouraging passengers to apply for refunds, but even if they do get all their money back it will not compensate them for the lost time and lost business opportunities.

Following the signalling problems throughout the week Network Rail has pointed out to passengers that it is “acutely aware” of their frustration as it works to improve the reliability of train services.

Perhaps there can be no gain without pain but Network Rail must ensure that commuters do not face these difficulties week in, week out while the new signalling complex at Didcot is completed.

Everyone needs to get to work on time, and for many road and rail are the only options.