London Overground delays: Rush hour commuters stranded on packed trains for over an hour after power failure at Surrey Quays

Crowds of commuters were this morning stranded on packed trains for over an hour after a huge stretch of the London Overground line ground to a halt.

A power cut on the line at Surrey Quays meant trains stopped moving and passengers were forced to wait in crowded carriages for over an hour.

Two trains full of passengers were reportedly trapped between stations and staff began evacuating people onto the railway tracks.

Stefan Jakubowski, who got on at Denmark Hill at 8.20am, told the Standard the train stopped moving just outside Surrey Quays station and passengers were trapped inside for an hour.

He said: “The train normally stops there for a moment to wait for a signal but today all the lights went out and we were informed that the line has lost power.

“We've been told that we're being evacuated from the train shortly.”

Passengers were told an engineer was checking the tracks were safe "to make sure we don't get shocked".

Transport for London apologised and said the problem was caused by a power failure between Surrey Quays and Shadwell at around 8.40am.

Photos taken at New Cross Gate show hordes of people queuing to get onto the station platform as the crowds built up.

Services are suspended between Highbury and Islington station and New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon.

Some passengers, on a train which took longer to be evacuated, reported being stuck for an hour and 45 minutes.

Many passengers praised the announcements from the driver on one of the standstill trains with him being called "informative, compassionate, kind".

Alessia Armenise said: “Stuck in the London Overground for the past 20 minutes at least but the driver is so polite and so sorry that I can’t even be mad.

“Just give the driver a raise, he’s so nice!”

Becca Fowles added: "The driver was brilliant and so kind, lots of communication.

"He's a good guy and did the best he could in this situation. They also gave out water and had paramedics on site in case anyone had fallen ill."

Rosie Mottram said on Twitter: “Never great to be stuck on an overground train for over an hour, but the staff of London Overground have been exceptional.”

David Moore said: “Any update on the power cut near Surrey Quays? If I don't get my lunch to a fridge soon it's going to be ruined.”

Duncan Cross, deputy director of operators at the London Overground, said: “We’re sorry for any delays caused to London Overground customers this morning after a power failure on the East London Line.

"We’re working with Network Rail to fix the fault and get trains moving again as soon as possible.”