Rail passengers are facing travel chaos on a miserably wet and windy Saturday after hairline cracks were found in a number of high-speed trains.
Major services were cancelled as Hitachi 800s trains across four rail providers underwent safety inspections as a "precaution".
Great Western Railway (GWR), London North Eastern Railways (LNER), Hull Trains and TransPennine Express services were experiencing "major disruption", said National Rail.
Hull Trains has said its services are back running as normal, but GWR, which operates 93 Hitachi 800 trains, warned that the problem could affect Sunday services as well.
The operators had warned of cancellations and severe delays while the cracks were investigated, with LNER urging passengers not to travel on its services on Saturday.
There is limited to no service on the East Coast, between Edinburgh, Newcastle, York and London.
All high-speed GWR services between London, Bristol, Cardiff and Penzance have been cancelled.
Hitachi Rail apologised for the disruption as passengers were told to check online journey planners if they decide to travel.
They told of their frustration and "train stress" as they tried to get to their destinations amid the travel chaos.
A Twitter user wrote to LNER: "Just had my third train of the day cancelled... the LNER website won't let me book a new seat reservation (or cancel the old ones) as I've made too many for one day.
"Can you arrange for this restriction to be lifted in times of disruption please?"
Another user wrote in a reply to National Rail: "Okay but just 'not travelling' isn't an option for everyone. Is it all GWR trains? Are they likely to be reinstated today??"
National Rail responded: "I am unable to comment at this moment in time as we are waiting on updates from them."
'Train stress'
A third person wrote: "Train stress! Literally RAN through Reading station to get this train as all others cancelled."
Social media users encouraged passengers to be kind to rail staff during the disruption.
One wrote to LNER: "Just want to say a big thank you to all the staff onboard the 0648 GLC - KGX, they’ve gone over and above to make sure we’re all relaxed and happy, and been very informative too. Well done to you all at the social media team as well for being so helpful!"
Cancellations and severe delays were expected all day as dozens of Hitachi 800s are checked as a "precaution". It was unclear whether the disruption would carry over into Sunday.
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the rail industry has been asked to carry out a review into the matter.
He said: “Routine checks of Hitachi trains early this morning identified cracks on part of the chassis of some trains. Safety is always our absolute priority, so these trains have been taken off the network to undergo full and rigorous checks.
“Hitachi are working to complete these strict precautionary checks. Trains will be returned to service as quickly as possible once they are fully approved as safe by the manufacturer.
“Whilst some trains are starting to be reintroduced, disruption is likely for a prolonged period, particularly on GWR.
“I share the frustration of passengers who are experiencing significant disruption, and would ask people whose journeys are affected to check before travelling.
“I’ve asked operators to ensure extra staff are on hand to help people complete their journeys safely, to increase their communications with passengers, and to make information on refunds and compensation clear.
“I’ve also asked all affected operators – GWR, LNER, Hull Trains and TransPennine Express - to explore all options to ensure they help people complete their journeys. That includes maintaining as many services as possible and providing additional rail replacement services.
“We’re also ensuring ticket acceptances are in place on other operators, who are looking at strengthening their services to provide passengers with alternative ways of completing their journey.
“We have also asked the industry to conduct a rapid and comprehensive review to resolve the issue."
The non-ministerial Government department responsible for regulating Britain’s railways, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), has also said it is working to get trains back into service “as soon as safely possible” following widespread disruption.
National Rail tweeted: "Some GWR, Hull Trains, LNER and TPE trains have been taken out of service today for safety checks as a precautionary measure.
"Once trains have been checked, they will be released back into service as soon as possible. Please check before travel."
GWR said cracks were detected on “more than one” Hitachi 800 train, so all 93 Hitachi 800s in their fleet are being inspected as a “precaution”.
The company added that “roughly 10” of the Hitachi 800s are now back in service after being inspected and found to be safe.
A spokesman said: “There’s a crack that’s been spotted and as a result of that – as a precaution – we’re checking all the trains, and while that’s taking place it’s better that they’re not used.
“It’s been found in more than one train, but we don’t know exactly how many trains because the fleet is still being inspected.”
Asked how long the disruption will last, the GWR spokesman said: “It’s a question of how quickly the trains can be inspected – it’s highly likely that it will certainly persist through to the end of today.
“Once more inspection has been carried out we’ll have a better understanding as to whether that disruption is going to continue into tomorrow.”
The spokesman added that the issue is affecting long-distance journeys between cities, which are being refunded, but that suburban and rural GWR services are still running as normal.
LNER said it's experiencing "significant disruption", adding: "We advise customers not to travel today.
"Please visit our Travel Alerts page for information on refunds and alternative travel."
The company wrote to one Twitter user: "Trains remain safe and we would not let it leave a depot without a validated safety check. Safety is our number one priority."
At about 1.30pm, Hull Trains said its services were back running as normal.
A spokesperson said: “We are pleased to confirm that following thorough checks by Hitachi on the Hull Trains fleet of Class 800 series trains, services will now resume as normal.
“Due to the significant disruption that has taken place we expect our services to be extremely busy and we cannot guarantee that social distancing guidelines will be adhered to.
“All passengers must wear a face covering.
“Those customers who were booked on cancelled services today can receive a full refund without any fees by applying through our website.
“We would like to apologise to all passengers for the impact this may have caused.”
TransPennine Express said its Nova 1 trains had been affected, adding: "This will affect a significant number of services on our Newcastle to Liverpool route and we are advising customers not to travel on this route today."
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “RMT is fully aware of the issues that have led to the cancellation of services on LNER today and that similar problems with cracks appearing in the fleet on Great Western are also emerging.
“Hitachi needs to ensure the highest safety standards and properly investigate and rectify the issues.”
Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said passengers should not be charged extra in future to pay for repairs.
“It’s welcome news that railway engineering staff have found these cracks before they led to an accident,” he said.
“This rolling stock must not be allowed back into service until we are 100% certain these trains are safe.
“It’s important to point out that the affected trains are relatively new, in which case the manufacturers should foot the bill for any repairs, not passengers or taxpayers.”
Hitachi Rail has apologised for the disruption caused.
A spokesman said: “We are working with all partners to resolve this issue as quickly and safely as possible.
“We would like to offer our sincerest apologies to passengers for the impact this may be causing for their travel plans.”
Anthony Smith, chief executive of independent watchdog Transport Focus, added: “Safety must always come first. However, it is very disappointing this is happening on a relatively new set of trains…
“Refunds should be quick and compensation generous. Many thousands will have their travel plans upset this weekend.”
Hitachi 800 trains have been in service since 2017.
They were built at a factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.
