A broken-down train has caused further misery for commuters suffering disruption on one of Britain’s most congested lines following the introduction of new timetables.

The Network Rail maintenance train was being used for engineering work when it failed near Gatwick Airport in the early hours of Thursday.

This contributed to half of all Thameslink services on the Brighton main line being cancelled or more than 30 minutes late as of 10.30am, according to the trains.im website.

A spokesman for Government-owned Network Rail, which is responsible for maintaining Britain’s rail infrastructure, said: “We are sorry for the disruption to passengers’ journeys on the Brighton main line this morning.

“An engineering train has broken down in the Gatwick area, closing two of the four tracks through the area. We have engineers on site working to move the engineering train and a specialist cleaning team who are dealing with a substantial fluid leak.

“Safety is our top priority and we are working hard to keep passengers moving, but delays are expected.”

Passengers travelling on the Brighton main line are among those who have suffered hundreds of delays and cancellations since new timetables were introduced on May 20.

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Chris Grayling criticised Govia Thameslink and Northern over the timetable disruption (Danny Lawson/PA)

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling blames Network Rail for being “very late” to finalise the new timetables, as well as criticising operators GTR and Northern for inadequate planning.

GTR reliability showed signs of recovery following the introduction of an interim timetable from Monday with 230 daily services removed, which makes up 6% of trains.

On Wednesday, just 4% of trains on the amended schedule were cancelled or significantly late, compared with 13% during the first two weeks of the new timetables.

But the figure rose to 17% on Thursday morning, causing dozens of passengers to express their frustration on social media.

𝙲𝚊𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚑𝚘𝚗-𝙿𝚒𝚝𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍, from Brighton, wrote: “3 hours. THREE HOURS. That’s how long it has taken me to get to work this morning because of @TLRailUK’s utter incompetence.”

Vic Polkinghorne posted: “Today’s particular utter failure on Thameslink is caused by a broken down engineering train … You couldn’t make it up. 45 mins late for work.”

Nick Harmer added: “Dear @TLRailUK Many thanks for making me 90 minutes late for work today. You are officially the worst train company in the history of travel.”

Meanwhile, Transport for the North said it had been informed that to reinstate services on the Lakes Line, after two weeks of the interim timetable, would be likely to lead to further delays and unscheduled cancellations on this line and across the wider network.

Transport for the North said it now urges Northern to present options for restoring rail services on the Lakes Line as soon as possible, at the very latest week five of the interim timetable.

John Cridland, chairman of Transport for the North, said: “It’s disappointing that we are in this position, as communities and businesses rely on the Lakes Line service.

“Northern must now do everything they can to get a train service running again on that line as soon as possible. This cannot go on for a prolonged period.

“Northern has said that passengers would be likely to experience further cancellations and unscheduled delays across the Lakes and wider network if services are reinstated.

“As the voice of the North’s communities, we cannot responsibly insist that they take that operational decision. The passengers come first.

“Let us be clear, our support for Cumbria is unwavering. We are urging Northern to look at all ways in which a rail service on the line can be restored by the beginning of July at the latest.”

Local MP Tim Farron said: “The Transport Secretary made a promise to me in the House of Commons on Monday that he would not accept any bid to extend the suspension of rail services on the Lakes Line.

“He must now keep his word, and not sign this off.

“Northern could have been a lot cleverer and instead run a shuttle service between Oxenholme and Windermere, as suggested by Liberal Democrats on the county council, without affecting services in and around Preston or Manchester.

“But instead they’ve simply given up trying to run a train service – it’s time for the Government to sack them.”