The trains are just as bad after power line failure shuts the East Coast line

Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded across the rail network today after a train brought down overhead power cables.

Passengers were warned the chaos would last until tomorrow as the big freeze halted trains from London to Scotland.

The power lines came down at about 8am across all three tracks just north of Huntingdon station, adding to the chaos caused by snow the length of the East Coast line up to Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow. It meant all intercity trains out of King's Cross were suspended for the day, leaving passengers stuck in carriages or on platforms.

Trains from the North were stopping at Peterborough.

Passengers at King's Cross told how their Christmas getaway plans had been wrecked.

Advertising manager Katy Teather from north London was trying to get to Aberdeen with 10-year-old daughter Molly.

"It was an absolute farce," she said. "Once we realised the King's Cross train was cancelled we went to Euston where three train-loads were trying to cram onto one train. They simply lifted the barrier and said first come, first served'. It was pandemonium.

"Once we were on our way they announced they'd had to leave 200 people on the platform. I feel sorry for the people who had reserved tickets for this train but didn't even get on.

"Now we've got to go to Carlisle, then change for Edinburgh, then change again for Aberdeen. God knows what time we'll get there."

A 24-year-old student called Moebu from Claygate in Surrey, who was trying to get to Grimsby to spend the holiday with her family, said: "I'll come back tomorrow. There's no chance of me getting a train today.

"It was really difficult to get here from Surrey because of the snow and I stood for hours in the freezing cold waiting for a bus. I'm worried I'll have to spend Christmas in London on my own."

An emergency timetable was already in force on the East Coast Main Line when the overhead pantograph arm of the 7am King's Cross to Glasgow train is believed to have caught in the power cables bringing them down.

Trains to St Neots, King's Lynn, Cambridge, Foxton and Peterborough were delayed, while trains to Edinburgh, Leeds, Perth, Hull, Aberdeen and Newcastle were cancelled. Passengers had to evacuate a train which came to a standstill outside Huntingdon station.

More than 100 passengers were stuck on a train for six hours overnight when tracks froze near Sevenoaks. The Southeastern train from Victoria to Ashford halted between Kemsing and Otford after heavy snow. Passengers were rescued at 3am after another train was sent alongside.

East Coast trains advised its passengers at King's Cross to "go home and restart their journeys tomorrow".

All major rail operators reported delays, cancellations and reduced services. Commuters using Southeastern, Southern and South West Trains into London suffered disruption with warnings of problems getting home tonight, after sub-zero overnight temperatures and several inches more snow.