Passengers from Weymouth and and Dorchester are facing a fourth day without a rail service today after a broken down engineering train caused travel chaos.

Commuters told of their concerns after an engineering train used to fix a track fault broke down while working in the Dorchester area on Sunday.

It meant the scheduled engineering work which closed the line at the weekend wasn’t completed as planned by yesterday morning with track still to be relaid.

Yesterday the Waterloo line remained closed between Weymouth and Wareham while the Bristol line was closed between Weymouth and Dorchester West.

Buses laid on to ferry passengers between affected stations will be in operation again today.

It is hoped a normal train service will resume tomorrow.

However, a second batch of engineering work to complete the track renewal was set to take place this coming weekend with the line closed again.

The engineering work is advertised on the South Western Railway website but Network Rail said it has yet to be confirmed.

According to Network Rail, a specialist train was being used to replace a section of the track when it broke down on Sunday. It meant the missing section of the track could not be relaid until the engineering train was fixed on site.

Commuters who experienced disruption yesterday said their journey time was doubled.

Cheryl Tarrant, who was travelling from Weymouth to Winchester, said: “What would have taken an hour and 40 minutes on the train will take nearly three hours. It’s ridiculous, we didn’t find out until the morning. It’s taking the biscuit.”

Sharon Lane, who was travelling from Weymouth to Castle Cary said it was an inconvenience for those travelling a long way.

However, she added: “It should be about the same time for me; they have arranged a coach so they’re looking after us well. It’s just the way it is.”

Brenda Glenister, travelling from Weymouth to Hertfordshire, said: “It will probably have a domino effect.”

Network Rail apologised for the disruption.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to passengers whose journeys have been disrupted after we had to close the line between Weymouth and Wareham.

“Unfortunately a failure on an engineering train on Sunday meant we were not able to complete the planned track renewal work on this section of the line in time.

“Our engineers have been working hard to get this issue fixed as soon as possible and we currently expect services to resume as normal for the morning peak on Wednesday.

"A limited bus service is in place between the affected stations to help passengers complete their journeys.

"Tickets will also be accepted on First Wessex X54 bus services between Weymouth and Wareham.

"We once again apologise for the inconvenience this has caused, thank passengers for their patience and ask them check before they travel through today and tomorrow.”