Paddington station disruption: Train delays after major power outage hits routes in and out of London - and further Tube delays

Rail passengers faced major rush hour chaos on Wednesday as damage to overhead cables caused disruption to busy commuter routes in and out of the capital.

Disruption at Paddington, one of London's busiest stations, was expected to last all day.

The major loss of power caused issues on Great Western Railway (GWR), TfL Rail and Heathrow Express services, leaving hundreds of thousands of people struggling to reach their destinations during the morning rush hour.

By the afternoon, two of the affected lines had reopened and were offering a "minimal" service between Paddington and Reading and Heathrow.

Some 500 metres of "extensive" damage was caused during the night to overhead power lines in the Hanwell area of west London, Network Rail said.

The damage is understood to have been caused by a Hitachi test train running from London to Bristol depot at around 10pm on Tuesday.

A Hitachi spokesman said the company was taking what happened "very seriously". He added "a full and thorough investigation is taking place".

Many trains were left stranded on the line between Paddington and Reading, with GWR warning “virtually no train service” was able to run between the stations.

Huge crowds were pictured at Reading station as commuters battled to make their way to the capital.

Network Rail warned passengers travelling from London beyond Reading not to go to London Paddington but instead travel straight to either London Waterloo, London Marylebone or London Euston.

People travelling on the Heathrow Express were told to use a bus replacement service, however their journeys were significantly delayed.

Trains between Paddington and Slough did not run all morning. GWR said a reduced timetable would impact most mainline routes to and from the London station.

A spokesman said: "Owing to the extent of the damage, no trains are expected to be able to operate between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington in either direction for much of Wednesday.

"As a result, GWR, Transport for London (TfL) Rail and Heathrow Express will not be operating a train service between London Paddington, Hayes & Harlington or Slough until such time as repairs have been completed."

Southern, Southeastern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express all reported cancellations and delays of up to 45 minutes.

South Western Railway was also affected by delays. It posted this morning: "Due to a signalling problem between Reading and Wokingham trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.

"All services from Reading to London Waterloo will run non-stop from Staines to London Waterloo until further notice."

Delays on the Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee and Metropolitan London Underground lines compounded difficulties for commuters trying to get across the city after arriving at alternative rail hubs.

Commuters had also faced delays on Tuesday evening as electricity supply problems caused delays and cancellations at Victoria station.

Problems at Paddington station began last night, with one passenger complaining it took her six hours to get from Maidenhead to London.

By Wednesday afternoon, a "minimal" service had been restored on two of the four lines affected by the outage.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “Engineers have been working round the clock and have managed to clear debris from the damage and restore power so trapped trains that were blocking the line can now be moved.

"As a result two lines out of the four that are usually used are now open meaning minimal service will be in place for the rest of today between London Paddington and Reading and Heathrow. Passengers should check before they travel.

"Passengers travelling to London can also travel to Waterloo via Reading and Marylebone via Oxford.

"A rail replacement service is currently operating between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport.

"Heathrow Express services have now resumed with departures every 30 minutes and passengers are advised to check the latest service information before they travel."