Rail cable thieves have struck on the eve on the Olympics causing major disruption to tens of thousands of commuters and visitors to London.
The thieves botched the job at Bedford during the night and failed to steal any signal cable but in the attempt caused an horrendous amount of damage
First Capital Connect (FCC), which usually carries 75,000 people a day, was forced to slash its service to just a third of the scheduled timetable.
There were delays of an hour and a half or more and trains which did run were even more crowded than usual.
The company, which operates through-London between Bedford, and Brighton, was unable to get the majority of its train fleet out of the Bedford depot and sidings.
An FCC spokesman said: "We are absolutely devastated this has happened and we are working with Network Rail (NR) to get services back to normal as quickly as possible.
"Today is going to be extremely difficult for our passengers, our regular commuters and visitors to London, and this could not have come at a worse time."
East Midland Trains, London Midland and Southeastern services also suffered disruption.
Buses replaced some trains between Bedford and Luton. East Midland is running its scheduled service but trains cannot stop at Bedford.
An NR spokesman said: "A signal fault between Luton and Bedford caused by attempted cable theft - a mindless and despicable act - is resulting in significant disruption to FCC services in the Bedford area this morning.
“We're doing everything we can to get services back to normal as soon as possible. A revised train plan is currently in place that may result in extended journey times and changes to service frequencies.
"We advise all passengers to use national rail enquiries to plan their journey and get the latest information on services.”
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NR engineers worked through the night following the attempted theft which happened just before midnight. It is not yet known when repairs will be completed.
Thieves, often highly organised gangs, usually strike at night causing massive disruption to morning rush-hour services with trains brought to a stop.
Cost to the taxpayer-funded industry of the crimes increased to £18.3 million last year, a rise of 12 per cent.
Rail chiefs are demanding courts be given far greater powers in dealing with the culprits, including being able to close down scrap metal yards buying the stolen metal.
Dyan Crowther, NR director of operational services, warned "without legal reform we will continue to see thousands of hours delay and millions of pounds wasted on these crimes."
