London commuters vent fury after they face further Southeastern delays

Services are said to be disrupted throughout the day as a broken rail is fixed

Chris McKenna

26 January 2016

Commuters today blasted "appalling" rail services after fresh rush hour chaos in south London.

Southeastern trains were hit by major delays as a broken rail caused widespread cancellations this morning.

Emergency engineering work was carried out at Crayford after the problem was discovered.

Passengers slammed the network on social media after the latest in a string of delays to hit its services in recent weeks.

One person tweeted: "I am late for work so often due to @Se_Railway that I'm probably gonna get sacked soon."

Another said: "Every day there's either a delay or cancelled trains."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> My wife isn't on twitter but commutes to London on the appalling <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/SouthernRailUK" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/SouthernRailUK" data-vars-event-id="c23">@SouthernRailUK</a> daily so on her behalf: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGHGGHHHH!!! — Martin Abrams (@Martin_Abrams) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Martin_Abrams/status/691897854009417728" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/Martin_Abrams/status/691897854009417728" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 26, 2016</a>

It comes after Southeastern rail passengers expressed their anger yesterday as for a second time in a month a train was delayed because of “strong sunlight”.

A spokesman for the operator said: “In regards to our drivers making decisions during their journeys about safety, we trust them entirely to make the right and proper choice to ensure they put the safety of our passengers first."

Disruption on the Sidcup line is expected to last for most of the day.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> I am late for work so often due to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Se_Railway" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/Se_Railway" data-vars-event-id="c23">@Se_Railway</a> that I'm probably gonna get sacked soon. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/southeastern?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/hashtag/southeastern?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#southeastern</a> - ruining your life a day at a time. — Amy Parker (@parkeraaamy) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/parkeraaamy/status/691924200995590144" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/parkeraaamy/status/691924200995590144" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 26, 2016</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> Every day there's either a delay or cancelled trains <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Se_Railway" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/Se_Railway" data-vars-event-id="c23">@Se_Railway</a> SORT IT OUT!! <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/7qKooR30Ex" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://t.co/7qKooR30Ex" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/7qKooR30Ex</a> — nat (@natskips_x) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/natskips_x/status/691916573569843203" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/natskips_x/status/691916573569843203" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 26, 2016</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Se_Railway" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/Se_Railway" data-vars-event-id="c23">@Se_Railway</a> lack of information ... No customer care ... No easy alternatives ... No easy way to claim refunds! You're a bunch of crooks — Zara (@Zara_cadabra) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Zara_cadabra/status/691923481274011649" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/Zara_cadabra/status/691923481274011649" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 26, 2016</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> What's with the 5 minute delay then cancelling all trains from Crayford until the afternoon? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Se_Railway" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/Se_Railway" data-vars-event-id="c23">@Se_Railway</a> — Sangre Cobra (@LucasWeatherby) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/LucasWeatherby/status/691911991301120000" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3164976-https://twitter.com/LucasWeatherby/status/691911991301120000" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 26, 2016</a>

A broken rail is currently being repaired by National Rail after track inspectors found it on the London-bound track near the station just after 8.30 this morning.

Network Rail spokesman Chris Denham said: “Our engineers are on site and working to repair the damaged rail as soon as they can. I would advise passengers to check before they travel this morning and I do apologise for the disruption to people’s journeys.”

Trains are running normally in the other direction and it only affects inbound passengers.

Tickets will be accepted between Dartford and London on London buses. The DLR will also accept them.

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