RAIL passengers were hit with delays today when a power failure disrupted early morning services.

Some Cathcart Circle services, as well as trains between Glasgow Central and Barrhead were cancelled from 6am.

They returned to normal just after 7am.

A Network Rail spokesman said the problems were a result of a power failure from a faulty signalling cable in the Muirhouse area of the city.

He said: "The cable had essentially reached the end of its life and was replaced shortly after the incident occurred at the start of service.

"Staff were onsite quickly and replaced the cable around 6.45am.

"They tested the signals and reset the points and service resumed shortly afterwards."

The disruption followed more travel chaos yesterday when metal thieves put lives at risk by ripping copper cabling from a railway line in North Lanarkshire.

The culprits stripped signalling cable from a line near Holytown Station during a daylight raid.

The alarm was raised following a fault on the line shortly before 1.15pm.

British Transport Police are investigating the theft at the track, near Calder Viaduct.

A spokesman for BTP, said: "We were called to an incident near Calder Viaduct, between Holytown and Wishaw stations.

"I can confirm there was damage to cable at the site.

"An investigation is under way."