Lines reopened: disruption at Ely expected until 20:00 

Route(s) affected

CrossCountry between Birmingham New Street and Stansted Airport

East Midlands Railway between Manchester Piccadilly / Liverpool Lime Street / Sheffield / Derby 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, between Ely and London Liverpool Street, and also between Lowestoft and Stasted Airport

Description

Following a points failure at Ely all lines have reopened. As service recovers, trains running to / from and through this station may still be delayed by up to 40 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 20:00.

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

How do I get where I need to be?

East Midlands Railway have managed to source alternative rail replacement buses at Ely and Norwich. Please speak to station staff for further details.

You may travel on the following alternatives at no extra cost:

• Greater Anglia between:

  • Norwich and Ely.

  • Nottingham - Leicester - Ely

• CrossCountry between Ely and Leicester. (You should change at Leicester and use East Midlands Railway services towards Nottingham)

You should continue to travel as originally planned however your journey may be delayed by 45 minutes.

Greater Anglia customer advice:

You can use your ticket, at no extra cost, with the following train operators:

• CrossCountry

• East Midlands Railway

Please note that CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway have also been affected by this incident.

Great Northern customer advice:

Trains can now start to run between Ely and Cambridge. This is after an earlier points failure in the Ely area. There will likely be some residual disruption due to congestion in the area and train/crew being out of place.

Trains that normally run between King’s Lynn and London King’s Cross will operate between King’s Lynn and Cambridge only.

If you are travelling from stations between King’s Cross and Shepreth to destinations between Cambridge and King’s Lynn, you will need to change trains at Cambridge.

If you're travelling to stations towards London from Kings Lynn, you will need to change trains at Cambridge.

Make sure you leave at least an additional 45 minutes to complete your journey.

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

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 Great Northern's WhatsApp channel. Live updates are available Monday to Friday, 07:00–21:00.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A points failure was preventing trains from travelling from Ely to Cambridge.

Points are moveable sections of track that guide trains from one route to another at junctions. If they develop a fault, for example because something is obstructing the moving parts or there is a problem with the electronic control system, they may not move into the correct position. The signalling system may also be unable to confirm that they are safely positioned.

For safety, trains cannot travel over points unless they are correctly positioned and secured. In this case, the points can be secured in a position that allows trains to use one route over the junction. However, they cannot be moved into the position needed for trains travelling from Ely to Cambridge, so trains in this direction are unable to run through the affected area.

Network Rail signalling specialists have now repaired the affected equipment. This means the lines have reopened and trains can now start to run through the area again.

Ticket flexibility:

If your train is cancelled, you will be able to travel on an alternative service operated by any other participating train company, either two hours before or two hours after the original departure time of the cancelled service, in order to reach your destination.

If you decide not to travel or cannot complete your journey due to cancellations, you are entitled to a full refund from your original point of sale.

For further information and guidance please contact your train company or speak to a member of railway staff.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail 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 drop-off 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.