GAUTRAIN commuters were late for work yesterday morning after the train broke down at Malboro station.

The train stopped at the station and then remained stationary for 15 minutes before an intercom announcement confirming a technical problem.

Commuters were eventually instructed to leave the train and make their way to another platform to board a Rosebank-bound train that had been diverted to a different track.

Passengers packed into the already crowded carriages and stood along the aisles. After 10 minutes, the train finally left the station. Some passengers remained on the platform waiting for the next train.

At Rosebank station, commuter Mpho Mosimane - who hoped to catch a 9am train to Hatfield - said he was annoyed because of lack of cellphone coverage underground.

"My main problem with the Gautrain is that there is no network underground. I am late for a meeting and cannot tell anyone," he said.

Meanwhile, passengers entering stations in the morning were not aware of the problem because digital time boards did not indicate the delay.

"They must adjust the system manually and tell us about the delay," one of the passengers said.

The train was eventually towed to the Malboro Gautrain depot an hour later.

A Bombela investigation team is probing what caused the fault.

"There was a problem in the train itself," said Bombela Concession Company spokesman Kelebogile Machaka.

Gautrain's Errol Braithwaite said the trains have an internal safety mechanism that halted it if a fault was detected.

He said at no point was any of the passenger not safe during the breakdown.

About 30,000 people use the Gautrain a day.