Commuters face a miserable journey to and from London today because of a burst water main likely to cause delays all day.

Flooding from the pipe has left rail operator Thameslink Govia unable to run any trains between St Pancras and Farringdon until it is fixed.

Trains on the rest of the line, including Elstree & Borehamwood, Mill Hill Broadway and Hendon are also severely delayed.

More than 50,000l of water poured onto the track over the weekend, but the main cannot be fixed until this evening at the earliest.

A statement from Govia Thameslink Railway said: “The disruption caused by the burst Thames Water water main near Farringdon has been hugely frustrating for passengers and railway staff alike but in the interests of safety we have to follow the advice of Network Rail and not run through the area.

"We are doing all we can to help passengers on our reduced service with alternative transport arranged with other operators and rail replacement buses where possible. However, on a working weekday, a problem like this is bound to cause significant disruption and we can only apologise.”

A statement from Thames Water said:  "We're really sorry to commuters who have had disruptions to their journeys today. And we would also like to apologise to any of our customers who have experienced interruptions to their water supply.

  “We have been working around the clock this weekend, with help from Thameslink, Network Rail and Transport for London, to fix the leak as fast as possible while keeping our customers in supply at the same time.”

Anyone who has been delayed by 30 minutes or more can claim compensation here. thameslinkrailway.com\delayrepay