Arriva Trains Wales are off the rails.

Passengers were left stranded this morning after a power surge brought the South Wales rail network to its knees.

No trains were running after the surge at Cardiff Central signal box at 7.08am – which saw many trains stopped on the tracks whilst travelling in Cardiff, Bridgend and the Valleys.

The problem was "fixed" by engineers from energy giant Western Power Distribution (WPD) at around 9am, but the service was not up and running before 10.30am. The delays on the rail services continued to be delayed from and to Cardiff Central until approximately 12.30pm.

Network Rail blamed a blown fuse for knocking out signalling in Cardiff just after 0700 GMT, halting some 30 Arriva Trains Wales trains between stations.

This is a map of reports of people stuck on railways around 2pm this afternoon.

First Great Western services from London were turned around at Newport. The power surge halted all trains in the south Wales network and also left level crossings in the position they were in when the power went down. There were also reports of severe road congestion as a knock-on effect. And boy were the streets of Cardiff jam-packed with an abundance of cars that could only be an effect of Arriva's poor show.

A Network Rail spokesman said a blown fuse was found in the power supply and they were still working with Western Power to investigate the cause. She said:

"Trains are now on the move, however there are still some slight delays as we ease into normal time-table by this evening's rush hour," said a spokeswoman at 14.20 GMT. "We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused and we advise passengers to check before they travel into and out of Cardiff today."

Arriva Trains Wales have advised passengers wishing to claim compensation for their disrupted journeys to write to Customer Relations Team, Arriva Trains Wales, Freeport RLTR-HBCR-LLTH, St Mary’s House, 47 Penarth Road, Cardiff, CF10 5DJ.

To coincide with this train travesty I've conducted a bit of research into the most ridiculous train delay excuses, they are as follows:

1. Announcing the cancellation of the 8.16 to Bedford. “This is due to slippery rain.”

2. Heard on an April morning. The train is delayed because of "dew on the tracks".

3. On the train from St Pancras to Derby. “We apologise for the late running of this service. This was due to excessive heat on the tracks between Bedford and Luton.” (It was the first sunny day of the year.)

5. Announcement at Bournemouth station: "The train now arriving on platform one is on fire. Passengers are advised not to board this train."

6. On the line from Cardiff to London. Delays have been caused by "a giant clown on the line". (This related to an inflatable Ronald McDonald which had blown from the roof of a restaurant onto the South Wales main line.)

7. At Wembley Central, a delay was announced due to “illegal immigrants on the line”. (The police were chasing them up the track and requested all power be turned off.)

8. To a platform of passengers waiting for the train from Woking to Waterloo. Delays were caused because somebody had climbed on to the signals near Weybridge and was taking pot shots at passing trains.

9. On a packed train, with many standing for the full journey from Newcastle to London, the conductor apologised that the overcrowding was caused by “too many passengers”.

10. Heard at a London Underground station: "We apologise for the delay to customers on platform one. This is due to a delay in the actual service."

Yes readers- Trains are really becoming a nuisance! They never seem to be on the right track; they are late, delayed, cancelled or on protest. All aboard the hate-trains express!

-ZB