A £6million manmade lagoon which can hold 2million litres of rainwater has been built to protect the oft-flooded Fulwell railway line.

Fulwell station, built in a “dip” below groundwater level so it could pass under the Longford river, has been susceptible to flooding since its construction in 1864.

Trains are disrupted every time there is a large amount of rainfall, ward councillor Jerry Elloy said, and this causes costly damage to electric and signalling equipment.

Cllr Elloy said: “It’s been a big problem for ages. The water accumulates really quickly.

“Anybody down towards Sunbury and Hampton just gets stuck when they have to stop the trains.

“If they manage to do something about it it will be a huge plus. At least it will stop people becoming apoplectic.”

The new pumping system, installed last week by Network Rail, can take excess water at 225 litres a per second into a new storage lagoon which can hold 2million litres of water.

Becky Lumlock, route managing director at Network Rail, said: “Passengers using the railway at Fulwell know all too well the problems that flooding can cause.

“A number of attempts have been made over the years to tackle the flooding problem, but as a result of the improvements we have made over the last year passengers will now experience fewer incidences of delays.”