HUNDREDS of morning rush-hour commuters were left stranded in East Hampshire on Monday after a series of problems on the Waterloo line.

South West Trains was forced to cancel dozens of services between Havant and Guildford due to adverse weather conditions.

Passengers were left in the cold at Petersfield, Liss and Liphook with little information about delays or replacement services.

The train operator later released a statement apologising about the cancellationd and breakdown in communications.

It said freezing temperatures prevented some staff from getting to work and power rails had iced over.

A spokesperson said: "Our services returned to normal by lunchtime and we ran a normal evening peak service.

"We would like to apologise to our passengers for the inconvenience caused."

Many services were re-routed via Fareham and Eastleigh but passengers in East Hampshire remained cut off throughout the morning.

The line was reopened by 10am but long delays continued between Portsmouth Harbour and London Waterloo until 2pm.

South West Trains services were also delayed by 30 minutes or more on Tuesday morning due to a signalling error.