Major disruption at Ely expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

CrossCountry between Birmingham New Street and Cambridge / Stansted Airport

East Midlands Railway between Sheffield and Norwich

Great Northern between Kings Lynn / Ely and London Kings Cross

Greater Anglia between Norwich and Cambridge / Stansted Airport, between Peterborough and Ipswich / Colchester, and also between Ely and London Liverpool Street

Description

A points failure at Ely means that some lines are disrupted. As a result, trains running to / from and through this station may be severely delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

A visual disruption map video is now available.

CrossCountry customer advice:

Rail replacement transport has been requested to run between Peterborough and Ely. You may use these services at no additional cost.

Your ticket can be used at no extra cost on the following services and routes:

Between Leicester and Peterborough / Cambridge / Stansted Airport via London:

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

• London Underground services between London Terminals. Please show your ticket to gateline staff on the Underground to be allowed through the ticket gates

• Thameslink and Great Northern services between Peterborough / Cambridge and London St Pancras International / London Kings Cross

• Greater Anglia services between Cambridge / Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street

Between Leicester and Peterborough / Cambridge / Stansted Airport avoiding London:

• East Midlands Railway services between Leicester and Nottingham, and between Nottingham and Ely

• Greater Anglia services between Peterborough and Stansted Airport (Changing at Ely)

• Greater Anglia services between Cambridge and Stansted Airport (Changing at Bishops Stortford)

Between Peterborough and Cambridge

• Thameslink services between Peterborough and Hitchin, and Thameslink / Great Northern services between Cambridge and Hitchin

You do not need to amend your ticket to use it on these services.

CrossCountry have requested road transport to run between Peterborough and Ely. You may use these services at no additional cost.

If your CrossCountry train is cancelled, then you can use your ticket on the two CrossCountry services operating before and the two CrossCountry services after your cancelled service.

If you decide to travel from a different station due to this disruption and need to return to that station later, you will also be able to use your existing ticket to do this at no extra cost

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

You should continue to travel as originally planned however your journey may be delayed.

East Midlands Railway have arranged for your tickets to be used at no extra cost via the following routes and operators:

Ely - Peterborough - Norwich

You may travel on Greater Anglia services between Ely and Norwich.

Nottingham - Leicester - Ely

You may use your ticket on CrossCountry services in both directions between Leicester and Ely (Please be aware CrossCountry may also be affected by this disruption). You should change at Leicester and use East Midlands Railway services towards Ely.

Nottingham - Grantham - Peterborough

You may use your ticket on LNER services between Grantham and Peterborough in both directions, using East Midlands Railway services between Nottingham and Grantham.

Sheffield - Doncaster - Peterborough

You may use your ticket to travel on LNER services between Doncaster and Peterborough. You can travel with Northern and TransPennine express between Doncaster and Sheffield. These options are available in both directions.

Liverpool Lime Street - Norwich

You may use your tickets to travel with Greater Anglia to London Liverpool Street, you can then travel from London Liverpool Street via the London Underground to London Euston station. You can then use your tickets to travel to Liverpool Lime Street with Avanti West Coast.

Ely - Peterborough

East Midlands Railway have sourced replacement buses to run between Ely and Peterborough in both directions these will be managed by station teams.

Great Northern customer advice:

Severe delays are expected due to a points failure in the Ely area.

If you are already on a train or looking to travel, your journey will take longer than usual so please allow at least an extra 45 minutes additional time. For passengers who require Ely, Littleport and Downham Market, you will need to take an alternative route to reach your destination.

A shuttle service is operating between Kings Lynn and Downham Market for passengers that require a connection at either of these stations.

Greater Anglia services are still running from London Liverpool Street to Ely. Please note these are the only trains running through to Ely from Cambridge. Please see below ticket acceptance for more information on other routes.

Make sure to check before you travel using our online journey planners and live departure boards for the latest information.

Replacement buses are in operation:

Great Northern have arranged some replacement buses that you may be able to use to reach your destination. These buses will run on the following routes:

• Between Ely and Downham Market via Littleport. The first bus departs Ely at 16:35 and will run as a shuttle service between these stations

Where possible, schedules for these buses will be shown on our journey planners, so you can see the next services from your station. If not, they'll be under the control of our local station teams.

Ticket acceptance:

• Thameslink services between Peterborough and London Kings Cross

• Cross Country services between Peterborough, Ely and Cambridge

• East Midlands Railway services between Peterborough and Ely

• Greater Anglia services between Peterborough, Ely, Cambridge and London Liverpool Street

• London Underground between London Kings Cross and London Liverpool Street via and reasonable route

Alternative bus route:

• If you are travelling from Kings Lynn to London, you may wish to use First Bus Excel routes A, B or C to travel to Peterborough to get a train to London.

• If you are travelling from London to Kings Lynn, you may wish to use train services to Peterborough to get First Bus Excel routes A, B or C to Kings Lynn.

• Routes A, B and C take around 1h 20m between Peterborough and Kings Lynn.

Please note Great Northern are unable to provide ticket acceptance on these routes, so you'd need to purchase a separate bus ticket.

Planning your journey:

You can see live departure boards, and you can also view a live map of the network.

You can also see the alternative route guide here.

If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner. You can also use the app to find up-to-date information.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A points failure is affecting some routes through this area.

Points are moveable sections of track that guide trains onto different routes at junctions. If they develop a fault due to obstructions, electronic failures or other issues, trains cannot safely pass.

Network Rail is sending teams to investigate. To work safely, they may need to stop trains, which could delay services.

Once on-site, they'll diagnose the fault and look for a quick fix. Some repairs may take longer if replacement parts or expert advice are needed.

Greater Anglia customer advice:

You may use your ticket at no extra cost on CrossCountry, Great Northern or East Midlands Railway via any reasonable routes.

You can also use your ticket at no extra cost on London Underground between London Kings Cross and London Liverpool Street.

Advance purchase tickets holders will be allowed to travel on earlier or later trains if their booked service is cancelled.

Specific train service alterations and live departure boards are available to help plan your journey.

You can check your next train and alternative options using the live map.

Check before you travel:

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

For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page.

You can find the pick-up and set-down location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page.

Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.

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.