Platform one at Oxford station was closed after staff discovered a broken Rail.

Trains on commuter services from Oxford to Reading and London were re-routed to other platforms while repairs were carried out.

Railtrack spokesman Jane Terry said: "We discovered a broken rail just in front of the platform. It may have been the departure of a train which caused the rail to break. Once a rail breaks, the current in the circuit is broken and that leads to a track circuit failure.

"That will then make a warning noise in the signal box and should automatically turn all the signals to red."

She said repairs were carried out last night so trains could use the track at very low speed.

"We can't yet provide an estimate on whether this will cause any delays," she added.

Commuters across the country have faced delays as Railtrack makes checks in the wake of this month's Hatfield crash in which four people died. A broken rail was the cause.