Thousands of commuters were left stranded at Waterloo station this afternoon after an earlier incident in which a person was struck by a train scuppered the entire day's services. Frustrated passengers packed the concourse this afternoon as services in and out of the city centre were delayed or cancelled. The chaos ensued after Network Rail was forced to close a section of the tracks between Wimbledon and Surbiton when a person was struck by a train. Scroll down for video . Thousands of commuters were left stranded at Waterloo station during rush hour after a part closure of the track between Surbiton and Wimbledon . South West Trains was forced to cancel trains on all of its services following the incident this afternoon . As British Transport Police investigators surveyed the scene the closure meant several trains and countless staff were stuck at the wrong end of the line. 'Services in and out of Waterloo have been severely affected following an incident in the Surbiton area where a person was struck by a train,' said a Network Rail spokesman. 'While lines are now open this has resulted in a huge number of trains and staff being out of place with a number of services cancelled or changed.' The statement added staff were working 'flat out' to recover the service but delays were to be expected into the night. 'Passengers should check before they travel and consider any alternative routes,' they added. South West Trains warned there would be cancellations to all routes as a result of the incident. At 9pm delays of up to 30 minutes were still being experienced on South West trains. The situation was worsened when another train broke down, a spokesman said this evening. 'Where the incident occurred is a very, very busy section of the railway. It services 10 of what we call pathways so it had a knock-on effect.' Network Rail said staff were working 'flat out' to catch up after services resumed following the part closure . The section of the track where the incident took place is used by 10 different 'pathways' leading in and out of the station . There were still delays of up to 30 minutes at around 9pm on Monday night some five hours after the incident .
Thousands were left stranded at central London station during rush hour .
Crucial section of track between Wimbledon and Surbiton was closed .
South West trains warned passengers of cancellations on all services .
Network Rail said staff were working 'flat out' to fix the situation .