Disruption between St Albans City and West Hampstead Thameslink expected until 20:30 

Route(s) affected

Between Bedford and Gatwick Airport / Three Bridges / East Grinstead / Brighton, and between Luton and Orpington / Rainham (Kent), and also between St Albans City and Sutton (Surrey)

Description

A fault on a train between St Albans City and West Hampstead Thameslink means that some lines are blocked. As a result, trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.

This is expected to continue until 20:30.

Customer advice:

Thameslink trains which run between these stations on the below listed routes are being affected by multiple incidents which have taken place today.

This could impact your journey if you are travelling on any of the below routes in either direction;

• Bedford to Brighton / Three Bridges / East Grinstead (peak services)

• Luton to Rainham (Kent)

• Luton to Orpington

• St Albans City to Sutton (Surrey) / Wimbledon

A passenger being taken ill on a train earlier today at West Hampstead Thameslink:

This incident has now ended however services which run between Sutton and St Albans City remain delayed as a result of this incident. You can mostly travel on your usual route, but please allow additional time (Around 20 minutes) to complete your journey.

You may wish to use your ticket on another operator if it will help your journey. Please see below ticket acceptance currently in place and check journey planners before travelling.

A fault on a train at Radlett:

One of the two southbound lines, and one of the two northbound lines which run towards London and towards Bedford are blocked from Radlett. This means the same number of trains will run on a reduced number of lines and this could cause delays of around 30 minutes and some cancellations.

You will not need to use an alternative route of travel, but please allow an extra 30 minutes to get to where you need to be - you may have to change onto more than usual trains.

Please ensure you are checking journey planners, station information screens and listening for announcements on board.

Ticket Acceptance:

Although you will be able to travel on your usual route, you may find using an alternative will help you complete your journey faster. To assist you with this, your ticket will be accepted on the below services at no additional cost;

• Alternative Thameslink services between Bedford, London, and Brighton

• East Midlands Railway services between Bedford and London St Pancras International

• London Underground services between West Hampstead and London Terminals

• London Overground services between West Hampstead and your destination

• London Buses between Brent Cross West and St Pancras, and between Sutton, Wimbledon, and Streatham

Additionally, to help maintain customer connections, services which run between Peterborough and Horsham will call additionally at Earlswood and Salfords when in the southbound direction of Horsham. Services towards Peterborough will run as booked.

Planning your journey:

You can see a live map of the network which will now show where your journey is likely to be delayed.

You can also use the Thameslink app to get more information about your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Thameslink have had a report of a fault on a train, and this is now causing delays to other services travelling through this area.

Until the defective train can be moved, operators will try to find a way to get other trains around the issue. This depends how many lines are available, and whether the signalling equipment is set up to allow trains to be routed around the problem. This is more often the case on our major routes, but not always. Thameslink will work with Network Rail's controllers to decide how many more trains can be sent through the area, and if this isn't possible, we'll see what alternative solutions are available to help you continue your journey.

A passenger being taken ill on a train earlier today

A passenger was taken ill on a train in the West Hampstead Thameslink area. Emergency services responded and all lines have since reopened following this incident. Thameslink are now working hard to get trains and their crews back on time.

When you're travelling, please don't board a train if you feel unwell. It's much easier to get help to you at a station, as these locations can be accessed more easily by our staff and the emergency services. Please use the green Emergency button on the station Help Point, and operators will arrange for responders to attend.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries 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.