Rail passengers were left furious today as a ‘do not travel’ warning was imposed on one of Britain’s busiest lines after it was blocked when a train derailed.
South Western Railway (SWR) confirmed it could not run any services between Woking and London Waterloo after an early morning train hit an object on the track.
Commuters could not get to work and were further angered by the cancellations coming one day after rail fares across England and Wales rose by 4.9 per cent.
All passengers were evacuated from the train near Walton-on-Thames in Surrey when it hit the object at 5.50am, with one describing the experience as ‘terrifying’.
Major disruption was expected to last for the rest of the day, with SWR warning passengers: ‘Please do not travel as there are no services currently operating.’
Paul Scully, the MP for Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park, was among those caught up in the disruption today and posted a photograph on X of passengers waiting for information
Network Rail said this photo showed how the train had derailed at Walton-on-Thames today
SWR also said would be no replacement buses in place, with services on other parts of its network also being delayed because trains and staff were out of place.
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Paul Scully, the Conservative MP for Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park, was among those caught up in the disruption today and posted a photograph on X of passengers waiting for information.
Another passenger tweeted SWR to say: ‘Atrocious! Paid the increased fare this morning for a cancelled train and a closed ticket office. Stuck at the station for another 30 mins hoping the next one turns up. What am I even paying for anymore?’
And a third said: ‘Happy Monday all. All set to go to the office, up and ready to find that all trains are cancelled for at least an hour. Thanks South Western Railway.’
A Network Rail spokesman said: ‘At around 5.50am this morning, a South Western Railway train travelling towards London Waterloo struck an object in the Walton-on-Thames area.
‘No-one was injured and all passengers were safely escorted from the train; however, the lines through the area are currently blocked while we investigate.
‘Early investigations show the front wheels of the train are derailed, therefore it’s likely to take us some time to get the railway reopened.
‘We’re really sorry for the disruption and will update customers on the repairs and timescale for reopening as we know more.’
The operator added that tickets for today could be used on services tomorrow, while acceptance was on place on London Underground and Great Western Railway via any reasonable route.
There was also acceptance on the Elizabeth line between London Paddington and Reading and Southern between London Victoria and Southampton and Portsmouth.
SWR confirmed there was ‘extreme disruption on our network’.
In a statement, it said: ‘Due to an operational incident in the Walton-on-Thames area, please do not attempt to travel on services which run between Woking and London Waterloo.
‘The lines running through the area are blocked, meaning trains cannot run between Woking and London Waterloo.
‘There is also a knock-on impact on services on other parts of the network, as trains and crew are displaced. Please check before travelling on other routes.
‘Disruption is expected until the end of the day. We are very sorry for the disruption to journeys.’
London buses were also taking tickets across all reasonable routes, while CrossCountry services were also covered between Reading and Bournemouth.
Passenger could also use tickets on local buses, with Morebus routes M1, M2, 8, 9, 16, 17, 20 and 40 taking passengers between Bournemouth and Poole.
First bus routes 10 and X51 between Dorchester and Weymouth were also accepting tickets, as well as the X54 between Poole and Weymouth
In the Woking area, Falcon buses 28, 426, 456, 514 and 515 were accepting tickets. as well as Diamond bus route 458.