COMMUTERS trying to purchase rail tickets this morning are facing disruption as South Western Railway (SWR) announced that all ticket vending machines are "non-operational", thought to be part of the ongoing global IT outage.

Ticket vending systems are out of action across the network, as ongoing IT issues affect companies around the world.

A statement released by SWR on social media reads: "Due to IT issues across the South Western Railway network all ticket vending machines are currently non-operational.

"Please purchase your ticket online, on the train or speak to a member of station staff.

READ MORE: Is Microsoft down? Users and businesses facing outages

"We apologise for the inconvenience this causes."

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.”

It comes as global outages are affecting businesses and users who use Microsoft, with laptops and various systems not working.

The outage has impacted banks, IT firms and airlines all through this morning (Friday, July 19).

On X, Microsoft 365 status acknowledged the issue that was affecting many users around the world.

Posting early on Friday morning, it said: "We're investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services."

SWR has been contacted for a statement.