A LANDSLIP caused by Railtrack engineers trying to improve the Swindon-London commuter line has plunged rail services into chaos.

The blunder has blocked one side of the line at Acorn Bridge near Shrivenham, meaning the number of rail services both to and from the capital has been halved.

And First Great Western, which runs the trains, is predicting it could take until Wednesday for services return to normal.

The firm has put an emergency timetable in place to try and minimise disruption, with only two trains running every hour instead of the normal four.

"Unfortunately, our customers are going to experience severe disruption until Railtrack can make the track safe again," said First Great Western managing director, Mike Carroll.

"We apologise to our customers and will ensure they are kept fully up to date of any changes in our services."

The landslip may not have been First Great Western's fault, but angry passengers waiting at Swindon station this morning were not in forgiving mood, saying they were simply fed up with constant delays to their trains.

Marilyn Mills, 58, from Liden, was due to catch the 7.50am service to Cardiff for a Christmas shopping trip, and had been told she would not be leaving until 9am.

"It's never any different when you leave from Swindon," she said.

"Landslip or not, the trains always let you down.

"We have been told we'll be leaving at nine o'clock, but I doubt that will happen.

"We got up especially early so we can get there before the shops open, but I don't think we will get there before they close."

Alison Arnold, a 34-year-old marketing executive from West Swindon, was hoping her 8.24am train to London would not be running late.

"At the moment, our train hasn't been delayed, so I'm not annoyed, but I expect it will be in a minute and then I will be annoyed," she said.

"I don't think I've caught a train running on time from Swindon station for the past three months. It just seems to be one excuse after the other."

Railtrack spokeswoman Jane Terry said the landslip had happened at about 3pm yesterday, when engineers attempting to shore up a problem embankment dug into the earth.

"It's a site that we have had similar landslips at before," she said.

"One of the reasons our engineers were there this weekend was to try and cure the problem once and for all.

"It's very unfortunate that, although we went there to try and cure the problem, it seems to have created one."

Ironically, the new chaos on the line came as fed-up commuters were preparing to speak their minds on local train services at a public meeting in Swindon tonight.

The meeting, held as part of what commuter groups have called The Great Western Investigation, is at The Thistle Hotel in Fleming Way at 7.30pm.