PLANS to re-double a section of railway line between Swindon and Kemble have been delayed by four months.

Network Rail, who is carrying out the work, said the completion date for the scheme has been put back by four months to August to allow greater flexibility in allocating engineering resources.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP for the Cotswolds, said: “I have been monitoring this upgrade carefully and am obviously very disappointed with this news today.

“I will be pressing First Great Western and Network Rail to make sure that completion date does not slip any further. I will be watching to ensure that any disruption to passengers will be kept at a minimum.”

A spokesman for Network Rail said a high volume of engineering work and remedial work caused by flooding has meant that the firm's resources were stretched.

As a result of the decision, a line closure planned for April will be shortened and all remaining work needed on the line will take place during the night.