Thameslink travel misery for thousands as overhead line problems cause hour long delays
Commuters suffer hours and hours of delays getting in and out of the capital with many having to fork out for cabs due to unreliable rail services

THOUSANDS of commuters are facing a second day of severe delays and cancellations on the railways after signalling faults caused journeys between Brighton, London and the Midlands to come to a grinding halt.
Signalling failures at Luton on Tuesday afternoon caused hours of travel misery along Thameslink's Bedford to Brighton line as workers heading northbound tried to get home from the capital.
Some furious passengers reported delays to their journeys as long as six hours - with hundreds also having to shell out for taxis after being left stranded.
East Midlands Trains travelling between London St Pancras and Corby, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield were also badly affected by the fault.
Hundreds of angry commuters took to Twitter to slam rail operator Thameslink - with many accusing the company of failing to communicate what was going on.
Related stories
Sean McGarr posted: "@TLRailUK took me 3hrs to get from St P to St Albans tonight and £40 in shared taxi to Beds. Screw u #thameslink. I hate your guts!"
Lilian G tweeted: "Thanks to my fellow taxi passengers for sharing the ride home otherwise I would probably still be on #thameslink train now, at 0230."
While Katherine Russell said: "#Thameslink a disgrace tonight. Journey Blackfriars to St Albans 3h45m. 1 bus to Luton at St Albans-chaos. No info or staff around to ask."
Thousands of people poured into St Albans station throughout the evening - the furthest north Thameslink trains were running - hoping to catch replacement buses.
But many reported chaos at the Hertfordshire station, with not enough buses being put on to cope with the extra people and local taxi firms overrun with those trying anything they could to get home.
But the misery didn't end there as almost all services between Bedford and London this morning were cancelled, with only one train running between 6am and 9am on Wednesday, and services not expected to return to normal for the rest of the day.
Only two Thameslink trains per hour are to run in each direction between Bedford and St Pancras, while a "near normal" peak time service is expected to run between London and Brighton.
A statement on the National Rail website said: "Trains are being disrupted because of a significant fault with the signalling system at Luton.
"This has been caused by signalling wire coming into contact with the overhead wires at Luton yesterday afternoon. This is causing major disruption to journeys between Bedford and London St Pancras International.
"A severely limited train service will be in operation and customers are advised to use alternative routes, as services that are able to run are likely to be extremely busy. We expect this disruption to continue until the end of service."
It said extra bus services were being put on between Kettering and Corby and Northampton and Wellingborough to allow East Midlands customers to travel on London Midland services to Euston instead.
A spokesman for Thameslink said: "We'd like to apologise for the continued severe disruption so many of our passengers are experiencing. While Network Rail is working on the problem we urge people to check travel advice at and use alternative transport wherever possible. We are doing all we can to keep people updated through our web, app and Twitter feed and have extra staff out on the ground."
An East Midlands Trains spokesman added: "We're sorry for the disruption our customers are experiencing today. We're working hard to keep customers on the move whilst Network Rail engineers carry out the necessary repairs works.
"We have detailed information on our website which includes advice on alternative routes that our customers can use, and we also have extra staff out at stations helping customers with their travel today."
A spokeswoman for Network Rail said a piece of cable which came into contact with the overhead wires at approximately 2.45pm on Tuesday was to blame for the power failure and damaged the signalling equipment which controls train movements.
They added: "Network Rail engineers have been on site working to repair the problem all night. However this is complicated equipment and passengers are being warned that disruption may last all day.
"Passengers who are delayed by 30 minutes or more should claim compensation via the operators' websites."
Meanwhile in Dorset passengers were forced to evacuate a train after an explosion caused it to erupt in sparks.
Shocking footage of the incident shows sparks shooting 20ft into the air from underneath a carriage as panicked travellers flee the area.
Witnesses can be heard screaming for people to "get off the train" and appealing for someone to "call an ambulance".
Firefighters, police and paramedics rushed to the scene, at Dorchester South station, Dorset. Miraculously no one was injured.
South West Trains, which operates rail services in the area, said the accident happened due to an "engineering fault".
College student Myles Harding began recording on his mobile phone after he heard a "loud bang" and saw flashes of light, which he described as "too bright to look at".
Myles, 17, from Dorchester, said: "It was so scary. I make that journey to college and back every day and you just don't expect to see something like that.
"There was a loud bang and I quickly got my phone out to film it because I thought, no one is going to believe this.
"Then there were these really bright flashing lights and everyone was shouting.
"There were all these sparks, it was like a firework display."
South West Trains said the dramatic flashes of light were a result of electrical arcing - a breakdown of a gas that produces an ongoing electrical discharge of plasma.
A spokesman for the company said: "Passengers were taken off the 1803 Weymouth to Waterloo service at Dorchester South station after reports of electrical arcing underneath the train.
"A problem has been identified with the equipment which delivers the electricity to the third rail, which powers the trains.
"As a precaution, the power to these rails has been disconnected, and engineering staff are en route to the site.
"The incident resulted in flashes, smoke and a bang, as well as cosmetic damage to the train.
"Replacement transport was provided for passengers to get them to their destination. We are sorry for the disruption caused to their journeys."
Passengers throughout Dorset suffered delays of up to two hours as a result of the incident yesterday.
More follows.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368