TRAINS from Swindon to London have been severely disrupted this morning in the wake of damage near Ealing.

The damage was caused last night when a new Hitachi train was being tested on the line to Bristol.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "Services to and from Reading and London Paddington station remain suspended this morning following severe damage caused to overhead line equipment in the Hanwell area yesterday evening

"We apologise to passengers affected by the disruption and our teams have been working through the night to open the railway as soon as possible.

"A rail replacement bus service is currently operating between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport. We advise passengers to check before they travel with their train operator or visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest travel information."

GWR has said it is operating a reduced service and is advising anyone travelling further than Reading to head straight to Waterloo, Marylebone or Euston.

It said some lines into Paddington may open after noon and all were expected to be open by the evening, based on Network Rail’s estimates on how quickly they could complete the repairs.