Passengers hit by major rail delays

Passengers travelling in and out of London faced major delays this morning after a host of rail and underground services were cancelled.

South West Trains to and from Waterloo station were cancelled because of a problem with a level crossing in the Barnes area.

Alerts on the company's website warned that:

* The London Waterloo circular service departing at 7, 15, 37 and 45 minutes past the hour is cancelled;

* Services between London Waterloo and Reading will be diverted, and will not call at Richmond or Twickenham. Trains running between Waterloo and Windsor and Eton Riverside will not call at Richmond or Twickenham, and will additionally call at Hounslow.

The disruption caused nine trains to be cancelled and a further 38 in and out of Waterloo to face delays of up to an hour and a half throughout the morning.

There was more misery for passengers due to a number of partial closures on the Tube, including the Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan, Northern and Victoria lines.

Underground services are due to be disrupted over the weekend with replacement buses operating instead.

PA