Fury over nine-hour rail trip

Mr Edwards said it felt like 120C

Rail passengers endured a nine-hour journey from Hampshire to London Waterloo in temperatures above 30C.

About 100 passengers, including a pregnant woman and elderly, were furious as their 70-mile trip was struck by a series of accidents and delays.

Their problems began when a rail worker died after slipping on a live line in Basingstoke and were compounded by a broken down train, a buckled rail and speed restrictions enforced by the hot weather.

Commuter Ron Edwards, 43, a business development manager for Shell, caught a South West Trains service at Southampton Parkway in Hants at 0922 BST and finally arrived at Waterloo at 1820 BST.

70 MILES IN NINE HOURS We've basically been shunted all the way around the south and it looks like they just forgot about us Ron Edwards

He said: "It was stifling inside, it was really just like a greenhouse. One person smashed open an emergency exit because the guard would not open the doors."

The tragedy which claimed the life of a 29-year-old rail worker caused massive delays because the line was shut for several hours in the morning.

Passengers were moved from one train to another as they travelled slowly across Hampshire and Wiltshire along diverted routes.

At one point the 100 people spent three hours crammed into a train of one carriage without water, said Mr Edwards.

That prompted one person to smash open an emergency exit to let in some air.

He said: "No-one seemed to know what was happening, no-one seemed to have any idea of what was going on. There seemed to be real confusion."

Water rescue

Six hours into their journey, they were given water by South West Trains staff.

It's staying dry, warm and sunny - but a little fresher to the North West - for the weekend Louise Lear BBC meteorologist Heatwave to last into next week

South West Trains spokeswoman Jane Lee said tonight: "Sadly, some passengers today were absolutely dogged by misfortune.

"They managed to catch everything that was going today. We have met as many passengers as we can at Waterloo Station in London to hand out water and refunds."

Ms Lee said the fatality caused mass diversions, then the train became stuck behind a failed freight train.

She added: "Passengers would also have had to contend with buckled rails, a broken rail and speed restrictions."