Disruption at Cambridge expected until 16:30 

Route(s) affected

between Cambridge and Kings Lynn

Description

Damage to the overhead electric wires at Cambridge means some lines are disrupted.

As a result, trains running between these stations may be delayed, cancelled or revised.

Disruption is expected to continue until 16:30.

Greater Anglia customer advice:

Greater Anglia tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on London Underground services between London Liverpool Street and London King Cross station, and on Great Northern and Thameslink services between London Kings Cross to Cambridge.

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.

Great Northern customer advice:

No trains can run between Cambridge and Kings Lynn until further notice. You will need to use an alternative route to reach your destination. You should allow up to an additional 60 minutes to complete your journey today.

Please talk to station staff, look at information boards or check your journey planner for the latest information.

Can I use my ticket with another operator?

You can travel on the following services at no additional cost;

• Alternative Great Northern services.

• Thameslink services via Cambridge and Peterborough

• Greater Anglia via Ely, Cambridge and Peterborough

• CrossCountry via Ely and Cambridge

• London Underground via London terminals

Replacement buses:

Replacement buses have been sourced, so you may be able to use these to get to your destination.

These buses will operate on the following routes:

• Kings Lynn to Cambridge

• Cambridge to Kings Lynn

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

The bus suppliers will be Youngs, Britania and Lynx Bus.

Planning your journey:

You can check your journey using the live departure boards, and you can view a live map of the network.

You can also see an alternative route guide.

If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner.

The Great Northern app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Pantographs are roof-mounted devices which allow trains to collect electricity from the overhead wires.

Within a pantograph, a spring-loaded arm holds a carbon tube against the overhead wires. This slides along the wires whilst the train is in motion, allowing trains to be continuously powered.

There are various faults which may occur - for example, electrical faults within the pantograph equipment itself, or debris causing an obstruction, which can prevent the train from drawing power.

In most cases, if a fault is detected, the train will stop and the driver will receive a warning message in their cab. Safety checks will then be needed to investigate whether it could be an issue with the train, or an external fault with debris or the wires themselves. This can take some time, which leads to a delay to your journey.

Please continue to check back here for updates, as the exact type of issue will have a bearing on how long your journey will take, and whether it's possible to use the route at all. This means we may need to change advice for your travel plans.

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.