BBC London
BBCA major signalling failure at London Waterloo railway station has caused severe disruption, with customers urged not to travel on South Western Railway (SWR) trains until at least 21:00 BST.
Services were cancelled throughout the morning, affecting routes across the network and leaving some passengers stranded.
The signalling issue has now been fixed and SWR said it is “gradually re-introducing train services”.
However passengers are still advised to avoid travelling if possible as crews and trains are returned to the correct locations before normal services can resume.
SWR and Network Rail have apologised for the disruption and said in a joint statement: “Later this afternoon we expect to restore a reliable train service on our routes to Reading and Windsor & Eton Riverside, as well as our suburban routes.
“Significant disruption is expected on our long-distance routes to Exeter St Davids, Portsmouth and Weymouth until the end of the day.”
Passengers have been told they cannot claim money from SWR for taxis but can use their tickets on specified routes with London Buses, Falcon Buses, Stagecoach South and Morebus, as well as certain train journeys on the London Underground, CrossCountry, Southern and Great Western Railway.
Jessica Halstead, who was trying to travel with her two children, told the BBC she was feeling “frustrated” after waiting around for over an hour on the station concourse.
“It’s quite hard trying to entertain children on a station platform… do I need to get them some lunch, when will the train go? It’s pretty disruptive,” Ms Halstead said.
“At what point do you just turn around give up?”
While passengers were seen sitting on the concourse floor as they waited for trains at Waterloo, customers across the SWR network also experienced delays and cancellations.
Rory Smith, who was trying to travel from Southampton to help set the Camp Bestival event in Shropshire, told the BBC his train had been cancelled and that his travel apps were not up to date.
“It would be ideal if things ran a little more seamlessly… not feeling like I have to scramble to find alternative routes.”
Dan Cokely, visiting from the US, said he boarded and then had to get off several trains on his journey from Waterloo to Southampton.
“I am frustrated,” he said.
“This is my third time using British Rail of some sort and third disruption”.
The signalling issue was reported at around 05:30, according to National Rail, with 14 platforms at London Waterloo out of use.
SWR was the first operator brought into public ownership by the Labour government in May, with a second train company, c2c, nationalised by Labour on Sunday.
Operator c2c runs services between London Fenchurch Street and south Essex.