A NEW system is being installed on railway lines around Warrington to reduce damage to the tracks and keep noise to a minimum.

Railtrack is introducing the new detection device the Wheelchex system north of the town on the West Coast Main Line.

It costs nearly £500,000 and uses sensors on the railway lines to measure the force being exerted on the tracks as trains pass over them.

Some wheels develop 'flat spots' which cause them to pound the tracks like a sledgehammer a problem known as the hammering effect, which can cause track damage and broken rails.

Information is taken from every freight and passenger train that passes over the line and is sent back to a computer terminal in the Railtrack operational control in Manchester.

Any cases of excessive force will be reported to the operator and in extreme cases the train will be taken out of service.

A Railtrack spokesman said: "It is not difficult to imagine what is happening when a 100 tonnes locomotive develops a flat spot, so whatever the cause it must be dealt with swiftly.

"This system is identifying which are the problem trains so that we can then monitor them to make sure that they cause no further damage.

"The end result is that the chances of damaged track are significantly reduced, passengers get a much smoother ride and people living alongside the railway experience less noise and vibration."