Major disruption hits rail passengers after staff and signalling issues

Train services between south Wales and London have been hit by major disruption. A broken rail and shortage of signalling staff are being blamed for delays to train services between London and both Heathrow Airport and Reading.

Passenger information website National Rail Enquiries warned Elizabeth Line, Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express services are affected. Trains are unable to run between Heathrow Airport and Paddington, and services between Paddington and Reading are subject to cancellation or delay.

Disruption is expected to continue until the end of Tuesday.

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Network Rail engineers discovered the broken rail on the high-speed line towards London Paddington from Slough/Heathrow. The defect means the speed limit for trains has been reduced, causing delays.

Meanwhile, a member of signalling staff has been taken ill. A replacement was due to arrive "on site" at around 8.30am, National Rail Enquiries said.

National Rail says that as a result, the following alterations will apply:

• Trains to and from Heathrow Airport may be cancelled

• Trains between London Paddington and Reading may be cancelled, delayed or revised

Major disruption is expected throughout this morning due to the number of cancellations to and from Heathrow Airport. However, the broken rail may cause disruption to continue until the end of the day.

About the broken rail they have said: "During routine checks, Network Rail engineers have found a defect with a rail on the high speed line towards London Paddington. Due to this, the defect will be monitored whilst trains run at a reduced speed.

Due to the high frequency of services in this area, and the delays this will impose on them, the decision has been made to amended some services to minimise the level of disruption to passengers."

Passengers are being urged to check before they travel and Great Western passengers can use Elizabeth line between London Paddington and Reading at no extra cost.