SEVERAL rail companies were hit with major delays this morning due to a breakdown across the country.
Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink and Southeastern trains are affected.
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Passengers at London Euston station as national fault causes rail disruptionCredit: LNP
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National Rail says passengers can expect train delays until midday Credit: Twitter/@_jonbrady
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Passengers wait for a late South Western Railway train at Cranbrook, DevonCredit: Alamy
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Passengers wait for trains at King’s Cross stationCredit: Alamy
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Long queues and delays at Waterloo station in London this morningCredits: LNP
National Railways said the outage was caused by a problem with the communication system between train drivers and signal operators.
The operator said services may be cancelled, delayed by up to 15 minutes or revised.
The statement said: “There is a national fault in the communication system used between the train driver and the signalman.
“As a result, services across the national rail network may be subject to disruption this morning.
“Trains across the network are having to start their journeys later due to this fault and some may also be subject to cancellations or changes.
“Check before you travel, allow extra time for your journey and follow live departure boards.”
ScotRail passengers have been allowed to travel by “any reasonable route” because of the problem.
In a message to passengers, South Western Railway said: “This morning we were made aware of a national issue with our communications systems which is affecting the service.
“This means trains could be delayed before they start their journey.
“This is because it is preventing our drivers from contacting the relevant signaling center this morning and a reset has to be carried out before the train can start its journey.”
A Met Office map shows Storm Darragh hitting the UK today ahead of an amber warning
GSM-R is designed to allow the driver and signalmen to communicate digitally at all times, including while trains are in areas such as tunnels and deep cuts where previous analogue systems did not work.
It was introduced to increase security and reduce costs by replacing inefficient legacy systems that were expensive to maintain.
London Underground and Overground lines also experienced closures and delays today.
The signal failure meant minor delays for passengers between Acton Town and Heathrow Airport.
Meanwhile, the recently renamed Suffragette Line suffered serious delays.
A train also broke down on the northern line and there was no service between Rayners Court and Uxbridge on the Piccadilly line.
Transport for London (TfL) said there were minor delays as engineers carried out “urgent” repairs.
Several passengers took to social media to share their experiences of the travel chaos.
One tweeted: “Elizabeth line continues to invent new ways to delay service.
“This time there is a fault in the radio system between the driver and the signalman. The radio, that cutting edge technology.”
Another said: “@TfL some honesty please? Good service and this on the Elizabeth line?”
A third commented: “Good morning #FinsburyPark @TLRailUK @nationalrailenq all but 1 late.”]
A frustrated passenger claimed: “@nationalrailenq Any word on morning rail change times?
“It takes me 25 minutes to walk to my local station, and if I walk there, I don’t even know what time you put the bus on, if there’s even one available.
“If I get there and there’s nothing, then what?”
Network Rail later confirmed that the fault in the radio system had been fixed.
A spokesman for the government-owned company said: “An overnight fault on our rail radio system in England and Wales has been traced to one of our main hubs near Stoke, which has now been repaired.
“The fault meant that train drivers had to manually log into the national radio network instead of it happening automatically.
“The system is now working normally. We are sorry if this problem has affected your journey today.”
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Rail passengers at Victoria station in central LondonCredit: PA
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Fault with GSM-R system ‘currently under investigation’ said National Rail InquiriesCredit: Twitter/@Hardmann__
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Elizabeth trains operating at Reading and Heathrow Airport are affectedCredit: LNP
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London Underground and Overground lines also experienced closures and delaysCredit: Twitter/@Krish_PR
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ScotRail passengers have been allowed to travel by ‘any reasonable route’ due to the issueCredit: LNP
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Chaos on trains this morning across the countryCredit: LNP
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