Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

A radio system fault wreaked havoc on the railway system this morning, with some services delayed and others cancelled completely. Here's what you need to know:

• Delays and cancellations: National Rail first reported disruption this morning - because of "a fault with the radio system between the driver and the signaller"
• Railways affected: Seven train companies were impacted, including CrossCountry Gatwick Express, Great Western Railway, London Overground, Southern, South Western Railway and Thameslink
• Problem fixed: "Staff have worked to resolve the fault, and train services are now returning to normal," Network Rail said in a later statement

• But disruption continues: But National Rail has been warning"majordisruption" until the end of the day, while a major train operator says to check journeys before travelling
• What people are saying: A tattoo artist prevented from getting to a job in Glasgow told the BBC the disruption was "affecting me financially", while an A-Level student said his journey to college was "stressful" so close to his exams
• If you've been affected: National Rail have guidance on how and when you can apply for a refund or compensation, which we've included in our earlier post

We're closing our live coverage now, but you can find the latest updates on the disruption to services across south England in our main news story.

The BBC has been speaking with passengers in Southampton who have been affected by this morning's disruption.

"If you're catching a plane or a hospital appointment it's just horrendous," says one disgruntled passenger.

James Kelly
UGC Hub

Image source, Megan Clarke

Megan Clarke, from Basingstoke, was two-and-a-half hours late to judge an international wine competition in London because of today's rail disruption.

The train that the 37-year-old head wine buyer was travelling on stopped in Weybridge - 17 miles short of Waterloo station.

"After failed attempts at taxis/Ubers and two different trains later I was stuck on a stationary train just outside Waterloo with no idea when it would move again," she tells the BBC.

She says she "finally" got to the competition but "very late".

"Only two-and-a-half hours late to an important work event!"

Disruption is expected to last into the afternoon, according to Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) which operates Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express.

"We apologise to customers who have been caught up in this morning’s disruption," says a GTR spokesperson.

It adds that the radio system fault "meant that Southern services west of Chichester weren’t able to run".

"This has now been resolved, but disruption is expected to last into the afternoon so please check before you travel."

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

Image source, Gareth Dennis

As we've been reporting, Network Rail says today's disruption was caused by "a fault with the radio system between the driver and the signaller".

Railway engineer Gareth Dennis says the system, called GSM-R, is a "radio technology that lets train drivers and signallers speak to each other".

This technology "has been around for a while and is standard across Britain and the rest of Europe", he says.

Dennis says the radio system is also "a safety critical system for stopping trains when there is an emergency".

"So if there's a problem with the radio system, it means we have to limit or even stop running trains until it's fixed to ensure that everyone on the railway is safe."

We've had a new statement through from South Western Railway (SWR) and Network Rail Wessex.

It says the radio communications issue impacted SWR services between 08:30 and 10:00.

"The issue has now been resolved and services are running but will take some time to return normal operations," the spokesperson says.

"We apologise for the disruption that this has caused to passengers.”

As work is ongoing to restore services across the south and south-west England, National Rail is also reporting a separate fault with the signalling at Haywards Heath in West Sussex.

National Rail says that "some lines are disrupted" as a result, and all Gatwick Express services are terminating at Haywards Heath.

The routes affected are:

• Gatwick Express between Brighton and London Victoria
• Southern between Ore / Eastbourne / Littlehampton and London Victoria
• Thameslink between Brighton and Cambridge / Bedford

Disruption is expected until 13:00 and passengers are being advised to allow an additional 20 minutes to complete their journeys.

Joshua Askew
Journalist, BBC South East

A Canadian tourist tells the BBC the train disruption has "completely ruined" his holiday plans.

Matin Gholamrezapoir, 24, who is visiting friends in Brighton, says he wanted to visit Arundel today, but now he can't go as his train is cancelled.

"We don't get cancellations and delays like this in Canada," he says.

He adds that the situation with railways in the UK has not given him the best impression of the country.

Briony Leyland
Reporting from Southampton Central station

Image source, Briony Leyland/BBC

Caleb Anderson, 18, is a student trying to get from Portsmouth to his sixth form college in Winchester.

He will be several hours late for college, with a friend on their way to collect him in his car.

He says with A-Levels starting in a few weeks' time it’s “stressful”.

National Rail has given some more detail about the incident that has been disrupting services across the south and south west of England.

"Earlier this morning, there was a problem with the railway's radio system," National Rail says, which "links train drivers with the signallers who control the rail traffic on each route".

It says that "this caused significant disruption to services on the Southern network".

The fault "is now rectified", it adds, and work is ongoing to reinstate services "as quickly as possible".

Joshua Askew
Journalist, BBC South East

Gemma Givans was supposed to be travelling to Glasgow today for a work trip, but her connecting train to London Victoria has been cancelled.

The 28-year-old, who works as a tattooist, tells the BBC "if I don't work, I don't get paid".

Gemma adds that the trains have been "really inconvenient" recently, and it has been difficult for her clients to get to Brighton.

"It is affecting me financially," she says.

Southern Rail has published a live map on its website showing customers which services are impacted.

On the map, a red line marks where there are severe delays, while the orange lines indicate minor delays.

You can view the map on the Southern Rail website, external, which will update as the situation develops.

Image source, Southern Railway

Nicola Goodwin
Finally Aberdeen-bound

I’ve been at Exeter St David’s station in Devon this morning. There have been extensive delays to the trains to Bristol and London, some of 50 minutes or more.

It's been busy, with lots of announcements and staff answering questions. And of course, long queues for the cafes, shop and toilets!

I’m now on the Aberdeen train, thankfully only delayed by 15 minutes.

Guidance is available from National Rail on whether you are entitled to compensation from delayed or cancelled journeys.

Full details are here, external, but we’ve provided a summary below.

Refunds

• If your train is delayed or cancelled and you either choose not to attempt your journey, or you cannot complete it, your unused tickets can be refunded without any fees
• If your ticket was purchased from a train company, you can find their details here., external Network Rail says tickets purchased from vending machines should provide information on how to refund a ticket

Compensation

• You may be able to claim compensation if you arrive late at your destination because of a cancelled or delayed service
• Whether you get compensation will depend on the length of the delay, the company you travelled with, and the type of ticket you purchased
• You should visit the train company's website, where you can apply for compensation online, or by collecting a form from a staffed train station

Network Rail has just apologised to passengers for disruption to rail services in the south-west and south of England.

"Staff have worked to resolve the fault, and train services are now returning to normal," a spokesperson says.

• We'll bring you information on claiming refunds and compensation in our next post

Malcolm Senior
Reporting from Barnes station

I had been hoping to have a day out in the Sussex countryside - but my train ground to a halt after one stop.

It soon became apparent there was a major problem, and I decided to divert my day out.

One of the guards on the train tells me things are getting back to normal.

So far, I can see services are running about 60-80 minutes late, so no trip to Sussex.

"The fault with the radio system between the driver and the signaller that is affecting services on the South England network has now been resolved," National Rail says in an update.

It warns that "some services may still be delayed by up to 90 minutes or cancelled whilst service recovers".

Major disruption is expected until the end of the day, it adds.

Southeastern has confirmed that its services are not affected.

It says in an update on X: "We would like to confirm that the ongoing fault with the radio system between the drivers and the signallers affecting the South of England are NOT affecting our services".

"There are no ongoing disruptions to our services," it adds.

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Southern Rail also says services to and from London Victoria are particularly affected, as well as its West Coastway route between Brighton and Portsmouth/Southampton.

Check Southern Rail's website, external for the latest updates.