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Hundreds of rail passengers - including the deputy mayor for London's transport - were left stranded in south east London tonight after a broken down train caused travel chaos.

Commuters complained of "nightmare heat" and a "horrendous" two hours stranded aboard a Southern Rail train which broke down while heading out of London.

The 6.32pm train from London Bridge to Dorking was 10 minutes late and then broke down just minutes after leaving the station.

Passengers were forced to wait for around two hours before another train arrived to tow the disgruntled passengers to New Cross Gate where they waited for another train.

Valerie Shawcross, who was appointed deputy mayor for transport by Sadiq Khan earlier this year, said conditions were like a "hot sardine can".

James Kearsey was aboard the 6.32pm train and told the Standard: "It was delayed by 10 mins, then had six less carriages to what we normally have.

"We lost power outside New Cross Gate, took two hours for another train to arrive to push us to New Cross Gate for a 30 minute wait for the next train.

"From what usually is a 40 minute journey has become a four hour journey from London Bridge to Cheam.

Other passengers called the delays "horrendous".

Fellow passenger Joel Samuel said: "It would have been quicker to invent a time machine and travel back to the 1970s where coal powered trains had less problems."

Andie Parton said: "There are literally hundreds of people. We had maybe three or four announcements during these two hours.

"When we got to New Cross Gate they said there would be water but I didn't see any water."

On social media Southern Rail apologised for the delays and confirmed it was due to a broken down train.

They said passengers can claim for compensation via their website.

A spokesperson for Southern Rail said: “We sincerely apologise to passengers on the 1832 service from London Bridge this evening, and also to those affected by the resulting delays on the network.

"The train came to a stand outside New Cross Gate and despite efforts to get it moving, a second train had to be sourced to assist it into the station, where passengers could get off to continue their journey.

"We will be undertaking a full investigation into the cause of this incident and we urge passengers on this service, or delayed elsewhere on the network by over 30 minutes, to claim compensation at www.southernrailway.com, and we once again apologise for the long delay suffered tonight."