Travelling toilet class: Rail passengers forced to crowd into lavatories on overcrowded trains as signal failures cause severe delays in London

Conditions on Britain’s 'third-world' rail services reached a shameful new low today as rush-hour passengers were forced to travel ‘toilet class’ to avoid the crush after chaos on one of the nation’s busiest commuter lines.

Thousands of angry South West Trains passengers were caught up in overcrowded trains as services were delayed, cancelled and halted on the tracks because of two sets of signalling failures that caused gridlock for scores of peak-time trains.

Journeys of under half an hour were more than trebled to an hour and a half – with some travellers stuck for three hours on another day of rush-hour travel misery. 

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Lack of space: Platforms at Surbiton and Woking were overcrowded, commuters were stuck on trains for up to two hours and one packed service was so full that passengers were forced to stand in the toilet

Woking overcrowding: Delays, diversions and cancellations caused chaos to rush-hour South West Trains services, which were hit by signal failures at Surbiton in south-west London and at Waterloo station 

Passengers were squeezed into trains in 'sardine-like conditions'. But on at least one packed train, commuters were forced to stand in the toilet because it was so full.

Passenger Helena Unwin-Golding, 25, who had to stand in the toilet on a train, tweeted: ‘I'm now crushed on to a train - standing in the toilets with other commuters. Fantastic.’

Earlier she had written: ‘Absolute chaos at Woking, where my train from Worplesdon has just been dumped.’

And tennis entrepreneur David Lloyd was also among those caught up in the farce, missing a vital business meeting in London. He vowed to MailOnline: ’I’ll never travel by train again.’

Eyewitnesses and angry passengers spoke of ‘cattle class’ and ‘third world’ conditions on the trains but complained that they had now descended to ‘toilet class’ as services went down the pan.

The signalling fiasco meant seven platforms at Waterloo were out of action, causing gridlock further back on the tracks as stranded trains queued up to get in.

Morning commute: Platforms at Surbiton and Woking (above) in Surrey were overcrowded as many were asked to get off their delayed trains – which were promptly cancelled mid-service - to catch others behind

'Sardine-like conditions': The signalling fiasco meant seven platforms at Waterloo were out of action, causing gridlock further back on the tracks as stranded trains queued up to get in

Stuck on the platform: Today's problems at Surbiton (above) followed a power failure yesterday which affected services run by the Southern train company

Network Rail apologised for the ‘significant disruption’ which had ‘a major impact on our passengers.’

But the knock-on effect meant that delays on South West Trains carried on beyond noon. The timing of the chaos, on the eve of the General Election, was the talk of stranded passengers.

Chaotic scenes: A crowded platform at Woking station after a train from Worplesdon terminated

The delays, diversions and cancellations caused chaos to South West Trains services, which were hit by signal failures at Surbiton in south-west London and at Waterloo station in central London.

Platforms at Surbiton and Woking in Surrey were massively overcrowded as many were asked to get off their delayed trains – which were promptly cancelled mid-service - to catch others behind.

Mr Lloyd, 67, of Oxshott, Surrey, who runs a chain of tennis centres, told MailOnline: ‘It’s absolutely disgraceful. Unbelievable. 

'I usually drive into London. I have got a very important meeting with the bank. It’s a big business deal. My meeting started 45 minutes ago. They’ve had to go on without me. It’s a very big deal. I’m never getting a train again.’

Project manager Lee Blofield, 36, heading into London from Basingstoke, was first ‘kicked off’ the train at Woking and then again at Surbiton as an hour’s journey trebled to three hours. He arrived at Waterloo at 9.30am - two hours late. 

’It’s been horrific, absolutely terrible’, he said, adding: ‘The train was absolutely packed. It was also galling to see empty trains flying past into Waterloo.'

Another commuter, healthcare communications consultant Anna Gray, told MailOnline: ‘I stood at Esher for 55 minutes before being able to board a train.

‘Two 12 carriage trains were cancelled - the next showed as delayed but never showed. The National Rail app showed it never left its original station - then two eight carriage trains came.

‘The train I eventually boarded took 40 minutes to get to Waterloo - a journey that should take 21 minutes. Just not good enough. I was 90 minutes late to work. I can't just get that time back. 

'The train operators appear totally inept and do not understand that the people they are transporting are losing time, and therefore money and that disrupts the economy.’

And pharmaceutical executive Debra Montagu caught a 7.30am train from Farnborough, but was turfed off at Surbiton to catch another train - on which she had to stand.

She said: ’It’s appalling. It was very uncomfortable. And to pay the prices they charge makes it worse. I’ve missed two important meetings. ‘

Queuing: The rail passenger who took this photo at Surbiton said he had experienced an 'awful' commute

Problems at Woking: Network Rail apologised for the 'significant disruption' which had 'a major impact on our passengers'

Unimpressed: One passenger, called Helena, who had to stand in the toilet on a train, tweeted: 'I'm now crushed on to a train - standing in the toilets with other commuters. Fantastic'

Passenger Lucy Vose said she left her house at 6.30am and was still nowhere near work after 9am.

Another SWT customer, Daniel Green, said his normal 48-minute journey to Waterloo had taken two hours 34 minutes.

'’I’ll never travel by train again': Tennis entrepreneur David Lloyd was also among those caught up in the farce, missing a vital business meeting in London

Caroline Harrison wrote: ‘How can you subject people to this? Yet more signal failures, people rammed in like cattle. Sort it out!’

And Katie Harrison tweeted: ‘If you like surprises, travel with SWT this morning. You'll probably be able to get a train but who knows where it'll end up?'

Natalie Taylor wrote: ‘I could walk to London faster than SWT are going to get me there today.'

Today's problems followed a power failure yesterday which affected services run by the Southern train company.

Last week thousands of trains passengers endured ‘a total meltdown’ as rush-hour services through Britain’s busiest rail junction at Clapham Junction descended into chaos after a damaged electric rail left commuters stranded on trains for more than five hours. 

There have also been repeated crowd problems at London Bridge. And Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne has been under fire since the fiasco endured by 115,000 passengers at Christmas when the key East Coast mainline was crippled by overrunning engineering works north of London.

Rail watchdogs condemned the latest fiasco as ‘one too many incidents of passengers stuck in crowded carriages for hours’.

David Sidebottom, passenger director of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: ‘Delays are annoying and frustrating for passengers whenever they happen, but many may feel that this is one too many incidents of passengers stuck in crowded carriages for hours.

‘We encourage any passenger delayed by 30 minutes or more to claim compensation. Send a clear message to the rail industry and make sure your voice is heard.’

A South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance spokesman said: ‘Signalling problems at Waterloo and Surbiton have caused significant disruption to our services this morning. This has had a major impact on our passengers and we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Extremely busy: Signalling problems at Surbiton (above) meant all trains towards London had to travel slower than usual

Packed: Officials said they were 'working hard to recover our normal train services as quickly as possible'

‘The problem at Surbiton meant all trains towards London had to travel slower than usual, while platforms eight to 14 were not available at Waterloo. Both issues have now been resolved and we are working hard to recover our normal train services as quickly as possible.’

He added: ‘Passengers travelling on some of our services have faced some very unpleasant journeys as a result of today's problems and we are very sorry for the disruption.

Healthcare communications consultant Anna Gray, who took this photograph, said she 'stood at Esher for 55 minutes before being able to board a train'

‘Extra staff were brought in to the most crowded stations to help passengers. Information updates were also provided by our staff, through display screens and on social media.

‘London Waterloo is Britain's busiest station, with trains arriving and departing nearly every minute at peak times. Today's problems have meant far fewer trains being able to run to accommodate a large number of passengers at one of the busiest times of the day’.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT transport union, said: ‘The so-called "deep alliance" pilot scheme between SWT and Network Rail was supposed to be a model for the future but has turned out to be a total and unmitigated failure which has unleashed misery for passengers on a routine basis.

‘The daily chaos on rail and Tube has reached unprecedented levels as thousands of extra passengers are thrown at an under-resourced, under-capacity system where cuts and private profit are the order of the day." 

A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘We are aware of the disruption caused by signalling problems on the network this morning.

'We look to the South West Trains–Network Rail Alliance to ensure normal service is resumed as quickly as possible, and that passengers are made aware of their right to compensation.’

And a Network Rail spokesman said: ‘Approximately 90 trains were cancelled and 400 delayed. 

'The longest delay was 71 minutes. The signalling problems were resolved at 7.37am and the points failure at Waterloo, at 8.41am. Services were subject to residual delays but are now running as normal.’

Season ticket holder and public relations executive Richard Tanner was trying to get from his home in Vauxhall to his office in Kingston-upon-Thames.

He said: ‘We felt like caged animals, and even worse, it was heavily delayed. It got incredibly hot. It was made worse because people struggled to remove their jackets due to being so tightly packed in. Then the doors malfunctioned. Even worse than that, it costs us all thousands of pounds a year.’

He added: ‘This was not a one-off unfortunately. I sold my car in October last year thinking the train would be easier. But my morning train to work has arrived on time on just a few occasions up to the end of the year – and it’s not improved much since either.’

Network Rail and South West Trains said the longest delay was suffered by passengers on the 7.44am from Claygate in Surrey, which arrived at Waterloo station at 9.24am - 71 minutes after its scheduled arrival of 8.13am. 

More than 220 million passengers travel each year on South West trains. The firm said it was investing £300million investment in over 250 additional carriages, track and signalling improvements, and more and longer platforms. 

Do you have any photographs of the South West Trains chaos this morning? If so, please email them to mark.duell[at]mailonline.co.uk