Paddington train services face delays and cancellations 'till end of day' as route beset by problems

Many Great Western Railway and Elizabeth line services to and from Paddington are being cancelled or delayed because of a broken rail

Train services at the UK’s second busiest station have been disrupted for the third day in a row after another infrastructure failure on a route beset by problems.

Many Great Western Railway (GWR) and Elizabeth line services to and from Paddington are being cancelled or delayed because of a broken rail between the west London station and Reading, Berkshire.

Disruption is expected to continue throughout Tuesday as fewer trains than normal are able to run on some lines.

Meanwhile a fault with a signalling system at Charing Cross was causing disruption to and from the main London terminal on Tuesday morning.

Two out of Charing Cross' six platforms were out of action.

Trains that normally run between Dover Priory, Ramsgate, and Ashford International, and London Charing Cross, were being diverted to run to and from London Victoria.

Trains that normally run between Maidstone East and London Charing Cross were being diverted to and from London Cannon Street.

National Rail warned the disruption at Charing Cross was expected to last until around midday.

Meanwhile the issues on the Paddington to Reading line was expected to last all day.

A Network Rail spokesperson said:  “Due to a broken rail in the Slough area, services between London Paddington and Reading will be subject to delays and possible cancellations for the rest of the day.

"We apologise to customers for the disruption this will cause to their journeys and ask that they check before they travel.”

Great Western Rail (GWR) said around 10am the new incident was delaying services in the affected area by around 10 minutes. The Great Western Main Line – which runs to and from Paddington – has suffered many problems in recent months.

On Sunday, damage to the overhead electric wires caused disruption.

A day later, speed restrictions were imposed due to a broken rail crossing, which is used to transfer trains from one line to another.

Thousands of passengers were stranded on trains for several hours on December 7 because of a problem with overhead wires.

Four damaged rails were discovered within eight days in November.

An investigation into the performance of the route was launched by the Office of Rail and Road in the same month.

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