Diary of delay

Train departs St Pancras 2200 Arrives Bedford 2241 Departs Bedford 0230 Arrives Kettering 0430 Departs Kettering by bus 0500 Arrives Nottingham 0700

Mr Prescott told the House of Commons it was a "terrible experience" to travel by train at the present time.

"We can only hope that we can improve that and indeed, we give our apologies, basically, to the staff who are working extremely hard to try and get it back - we admire their efforts - and indeed to the passengers who are suffering through that," he told MPs during question time.

But he ruled out renationalisation and stressed the improvements promised by the rail industry.

Railtrack Commercial Director Andrew Dawson admitted the company was to blame for the delays to the Nottingham train.

He said that a combination of problems with a signalling cable south of Bedford, overhead wires close to nearby Flitwick and other trains had caused the delays.

He apologised and added that passengers ought to apply for compensation through Midland Mainline.

London St Pancras to Nottingham service should take less than two hours

Kevin Johnson, from Midland Mainline, said: "Two trains travelling into London and the one heading to Nottingham were stuck when the power failure left signals out of order for hours.

"By the time the fault was fixed, the line near Kettering had been closed for essential track replacement work.

"We are really sorry that anybody travelling with us is experiencing extended journey times, but clearly this is too much."

Incensed passengers

Passengers said they were "incensed" and "furious" after setting out from St Pancras station in London at about 2200GMT but only arriving in Nottingham just before 0700GMT on Tuesday.

The journey from London to Nottingham once took one hour and 45 minutes. Even with ongoing restrictions in the Hatfield rail crash aftermath, it should have taken less than three hours.

The passengers were eventually allowed onto a coach at Kettering railway station and finally arrived at Nottingham just before 0700GMT, around seven hours late.

One unnamed female passenger said as she arrived at Nottingham: "I think it is a country in crisis.

"The amount of time we spent on the train was the same amount it would have taken to have flown across the Atlantic."