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COMMUTER chaos will continue for the rest of the day after a landslip cancelled trains.

National Rail said "major disruption" was expected until the end of the day following a landslide between London Paddington and Reading.

Commuter chaos hit this morning as two major rail companies said trains had been cancelled
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Commuter chaos hit this morning as two major rail companies said trains had been cancelled
Dozens of train routes were canned
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Dozens of train routes were canned
The chaos hit Southern and Thameslink routes today
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The chaos hit Southern and Thameslink routes today
Thameslink had a live map showing which routes were impacted
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Thameslink had a live map showing which routes were impacted
Passengers queued for trains towards Gatwick and Brighton at Clapham Junction, London, this morning
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Passengers queued for trains towards Gatwick and Brighton at Clapham Junction, London, this morningCredit: LNP

It added that although some lines have reopened, many train services may be delayed by up to 60 minutes, cancelled or revised.

Elizabeth Line services are similarly disrupted by this disruption.

Great Western Railway (GWR) said: "Network Rail have now reopened 2 of the 4 lines between London Paddington and Reading, and whilst services are resuming, short notice ad-hoc alterations are likely.

"Congestion is also likely as there is reduced capacity.

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"Customers travelling to / from Twyford, Maidenhead and Slough stations may use Elizabeth line services.

"Please note that at London Paddington these services operate to / from Platforms A & B which may be accessed via the entrances alongside platform 1.

"A reduced service is also in operation between Swindon and Cheltenham Spa."

It comes after dozens of trains were cancelled this morning as two major rail firms warned of massive delays.

The transport companies said a signalling issue saw train routes canned, as they urged Brits not to travel.

Southern and Thameslink, which operate services from the south east into London, took to social media to share the expected chaos.

Commuters this morning shared their frustrations over the latest set of delays.

One wrote on X, formally known as Twitter: "This is not what we want to read on a Monday morning.

"Travelling with southern rail is exhausting! There is never ever a smooth service."

What is a landslip?

A landslip (also known as a landslide) on the railway is generally defined as when soil, rocks and earth fall onto and either wholly or partially block the track.

Landslips can occur anywhere, moving either slowly or quickly. When they impact on railways, roads and other infrastructure, they can cause a lot of disruption.

They commonly occur when the ground becomes saturated with water after long periods of heavy rain.

As the earth becomes heavier, the water forces apart grains of soil so that they no longer lock together – resulting in a landslip as the structure becomes loose and unstable.

wrote this morning: "Due to a major signalling fault across the whole Southern Network, no trains will be running until further notice.

"Do not travel on any Southern route until further notice."

Southern said services between Littlehampton and London Victoria will not run, as well as services between Redhill and Tonbridge will not run, and services between Eastbourne and London Victoria will call additionally at Three Bridges.

The same message was posted by .

It added: ";We are currently monitoring the situation and will provide updates as soon as possible.

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"If you are currently travelling, please listen to on-board or station announcements.

"If you are not yet travelling, please do not attempt to travel until further notice."

Thameslink said that services between Cambridge and Brighton would not run and services between Bedford and Gatwick Airport via Redhill would be impacted, too.

It added that people could check out a to see if their link is affected.

The company said commuters should allow an extra 30 minutes to their journey if their route has been hit by the chaos.

A landslip between London Paddington and Reading means that trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 60 minutes, cancelled or revised.

National Rail

A GTR spokesperson said today: "At around 3am this morning, there was a UK Power Network outage affecting all track circuits and signalling south of East Croydon through to Lancing.

"Power returned very quickly but some of the signalling systems required manual resets. This had caused most of the signalling system to fail and meant trains would not be able to run.

"The fault has mostly been rectified and services are now able to run on most routes but some issues are still affecting services as the signalling issue also prevented some of our early morning services to be unable to leave the depots where they are kept overnight.

"We apologise for any disruption caused to your journey."

It comes as the Met Office warned heavy downpours could cause flood chaos today.

Forecasters warned heavy rain had been set to hit south of London, down to Brighton and out to Canterbury.

They said the downpours would likely lead to some flooding and widespread disruption.

It said: "There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings.

"Where flooding occurs, there is a slight chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services.

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"Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.

"There is a small chance that some communities will become cut off by flooded roads."

Your rights to compensation for train delays

You may be able to get compensation for train journeys that have been delayed or cancelled.

You'll usually need to apply as you won't get it automatically.

Train companies have adopted "delay repay", a national scheme used to compensate you for unexpected delays.

Passengers are entitled to compensation for a delay of 15 minutes or more.

How much you get back depends on how long the delays are and the type of ticket you have.

Compensation ranges from 25% of the ticket price to 100%. You’ll get a full refund if your train was delayed by 120 minutes or longer.

It doesn't matter which train company you are travelling with - the scheme is nationwide and all firms are part of it.

But how you claim the money back will be up to each train company and you'll have to apply directly. You can usually do this online.

You'll probably need a picture of your ticket and information about the train service you were on to claim.

You can find each train line and how to claim at: www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/find-a-train-company/

If your train is delayed or cancelled and you choose not to travel, you can get a refund on the ticket from where you bought it and there are no fees.

A signalling issue is to blame, rail firms said
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A signalling issue is to blame, rail firms said
Southern has also put out a map, revealing what routes have been impacted
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Southern has also put out a map, revealing what routes have been impacted
Dozens of commuters waited on updates at Brighton this morning
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Dozens of commuters waited on updates at Brighton this morning
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