RAILWAY ticket machines and some station retail systems in Somerset are currently down due to the global IT outage.

Passengers travelling with Great Western Railway or South Western Railway are asked to "allow more time for journeys" due to potential delays at ticket barriers.

The IT outage does not appear to be impacting the normal running schedule of train journeys in the region at the time of writing.

A GWR spokesperson said: "Some of GWR’s customer-facing systems, including information screens and ticket vending machines, are being affected by the worldwide IT problems.

"Trains are running normally with operational and safety systems unaffected, and we continue to closely monitor the situation.

"We are advising passengers to allow more time for journeys as there may be some delay in obtaining tickets from machines and passing through ticket gates."

A spokesperson for South Western Railway said: "The global IT issues are having an impact on some of our customer-facing systems, but our train services are currently running well.
 
"Some retail systems and ticket machines at stations are down, but customers can still buy tickets on our website or app.
 
"We're sorry for the inconvenience and ask customers to check their journeys on our website and social channels as we work to resolve the issues caused by this global outage."

The major IT issue has hit services and infrastructure around the world, with aviation, banking, healthcare, transport, and financial services among the sectors affected.

Cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike confirmed the issue came from a “defect” in a content update for its Microsoft Windows users, resulting in flights being grounded, healthcare services affected and online payment systems shut down.