Rail passengers were told to book taxis instead of travelling by train when a signal failure caused huge disruption to services on Tuesday.

South Western Railway (SWR) said that, due to the signalling problem at Basingstoke in Hampshire, some lines were blocked.

Passengers were warned of cancellations, delays of up to an hour, or alterations to services until late afternoon.

A message to passengers said: “Due to the level of disruption to your journey, passengers are now able to source their own taxis and claim them back through the SWR website between Basingstoke and Woking.”

SWR services into London Waterloo were also disrupted after a communication alarm was activated on a train between Wimbledon and Clapham Junction.

Cancellations, delays and alterations to services were expected until early afternoon.

SWR said later that because of a late-running freight train between Motspur Park and Wimbledon some lines towards London were blocked, with delays to services expected until 1pm.