Disruption through Bedford expected until 10:00 

Route(s) affected

East Midlands Railway between Lincoln / Sheffield / Nottingham / Corby and London St Pancras International

Thameslink between Bedford and Three Bridges / Brighton

Description

A fault with the signalling system at Bedford means trains will run to a reduced speed. As a result, trains through this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.

This is expected until 10:00.

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

You should continue to travel as originally planned however your journey may be delayed by up to 15 minutes.

Thameslink customer advice:

If you are travelling to/from Bedford your journey may be subject to delays or altered at short-notice. You can continue to use your normal route to travel, however please allow up to 20 minutes additional time to complete your journey.

For the latest information, check station screens and use our online journey planners

Planning your journey:

For help planning your journey, check live departure boards, view a live network map or see alternative route guides.

If you’re travelling within London, you can use the TfL Journey Planner.

Stay up to date on the move with Thameslink's WhatsApp channel. Live updates are available Monday to Friday, 07:00–21:00.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Track circuits are part of the signalling system and are used to detect where trains are on the railway. If one fails, the signalling system may show that a section of track is occupied even when there isn’t a train there. This means signals protecting that section will remain at red and trains cannot proceed normally.

Trains may still be able to run, but drivers will need to stop before the affected section and request verbal permission from the signaller before continuing past the red signal. They must then travel at a reduced speed so they can stop safely should they see anything ahead of them.

This takes longer than usual and can cause trains to queue behind one another. In severe cases, services may need to be cancelled, revised or diverted to prevent delays from building up across the wider network.

Network Rail signalling specialists are investigating the fault and will work to repair the affected equipment. Once the fault has been fixed and the signalling system is working normally, trains will be able to run at normal speeds again and the scheduled service can begin to recover.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail real-time Journey Planner.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.