Commuters suffered travel chaos this morning, after lines running through Epsom were cancelled due to a fault with the 7.22am train to Waterloo.

A rescue service was organised but several services had to head back on their journey to allow the broken down train to be cleared from the tracks.

Marc Green, 53, a freelance IT consultant, from Leatherhead, said he lost a day’s wages when he was unable to get to work this morning.

Mr Green said: “This is anti-business. This is a vital service for people for their businesses to thrive.”

In a statement published online, South Western Rail said: “The broken down train at Epsom has been moved, allowing lines to reopen.

“However, whilst services recover, trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised. We anticipate that disruption will continue until 12:00.”