THOUSANDS of train passengers have been hit by major delays after a train broke down between stations at Didcot Parkway and Swindon.
The problem was first reported at 6.37am today and affected services to South Wales, London and Bristol.
A spokesman for First Great Western said: "It has had a significant impact on this morning's peak-hour commuter services and there are some displaced crews and trains.
"There are no significant delays for Oxford services reported, but there may be small delays because of train congestion at Reading and we would like to apologise for the delays."
He said it had not been possible to put replacement bus services on due to the lack of notice. However, the firm did not believe there had been passengers left sitting on trains, waiting, for hours.
Two trains had to be cancelled as a result of the problem, but they were not services in the Oxfordshire area. Services were expected to return to normal by midday.
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