URGENT repairs were carried out at the weekend on a section of railway line near Liskeard, which had been kept under 24 hour surveillance because of fears for its safety.

The track, near Largin, had a set of damaged points, which led to Railtrack Great Western organising a 5mph speed limit.

The damage, close to Trago Mills, had been noted during regular monitoring of the Penzance to Paddington main line. Workers kept a constant watch on the track, and were present whenever trains passed over the spot, assessing the damage afterwards to see if it had deteriorated.

Lou Tate, acting corporate affairs manager for Railtrack Great Western, said the repairs were carried out as soon as possible. He added action had been taken quickly to impose the speed restriction when the condition of the points was noted - the speed limit during such restrictions depending on the severity of the damage.

The measure was put into affect before the repair work was carried out successfully over Saturday and Sunday. Trains are now able to pass over the spot again at their usual track speed - 40mph. Mr Tate said that during the restrictions delays to the services would have been 'minimal'. It is thought that around 200 trains passed over the spot during the imposition of the speed limit. Floodlights were used to check the track during the night. The 24 hour watch took place for around a fortnight, while delivery of newly manufactured track was awaited.

Speed restrictions recently introduced by Railtrack in Cornwall and Devon total 14, one of these at St Germans.

Mr Tate said that speed restrictions will always be applied on some section of the track nationwide, due to normal wear and tear, and he pointed out that Railtrack is involved in a UK-wide recovery plan costing £600 million, a third of which has gone in compensation to rail companies.

He said Railtrack was carrying out the work required as rapidly as possible. However, some critics believe that repairs are not being addressed as quickly in the South West as they are elsewhere. A spokesman for Railfutures South West, which is a passenger watchdog group, said Cornwall and Devon are not 'major income generators in the railways', so don't warrant as much attention. He maintained that problems appear to take longer to sort out than they do in other regions.

l The overnight mail train, bound for Plymouth, was held up yesterday morning after ploughing into a herd of cattle which had strayed on the line near Littlehempston, near Totnes, around l.15am. Around 16 cows were killed, and as a result of the hold-up the sleeper service between London and Penzance, operated by First Great Western Trains, had to terminate at Exeter.