London Paddington: James Blunt among thousands of commuters stuck on cold, dark trains for over four hours

Thousands of commuters were stuck on cold, dark trains for hours on Thursday night – including the singer James Blunt.

Damage was caused to overhead electricity wires after a train struck an obstruction outside London Paddington – meaning power had to be switched off.

Footage showed people huddled in darkness as young children wailed – and eventually, trains were evacuated with passengers walking along railway tracks to safety.

Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line services were all affected, with National Rail warning that “major disruption” will continue until 12pm today at the earliest.

All lines between Paddington and the Acton Main Line remain blocked – meaning services may be cancelled at short notice or delayed by up to 90 minutes.

National Rail has warned: “Specialist engineers have been arranged to attend the location of the fault and we are waiting for an update on how long it will take to fix the problem.

“Due to the high-risk nature of the repair work, it may take a considerable amount of time for repairs to be completed.”

Last night, stranded passengers on social media described people on their trains “getting agitated” and “kicking doors”.

Others bemoaned a lack of information from drivers and train crew, and reported they were unable to use the toilets.

On X, formerly Twitter, James Blunt issued a plea for takeaway pizza – writing: “Been stuck somewhere outside Paddington for close to 4 hours now. Out of peanuts and wine.”

Countdown presenter Rachel Riley also revealed she had been stuck on the Elizabeth line for almost four hours.

Customers attempting to travel on the network today are being urged to use alternative routes.

It comes as a fresh wave of rail strikes in the North of England begin today.

Members of the Aslef union on Northern Trains and TransPennine Express are walking out in a long-running dispute over pay.

Both operators are set to cancel services, and the industrial action could lead to knock-on disruption on Saturday.