Lines reopened: major disruption between London St Pancras International and St Albans City / Luton expected until 17:15  

Route(s) affected

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

Thameslink between Brighton / Horsham / Three Bridges and Bedford, and also between Sutton and St Albans City / Luton

Description

Following an earlier fault with the signalling system between St Albans City and Bedford, all lines have reopened.

As services recover, trains running between London St Pancras International and St Albans City / Luton may continue to be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

Major disruption is expected until 17:15.

A visual disruption map video is available.

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

East Midlands Railway have relaxed some of their usual ticket restrictions. If you hold an ‘advance ticket’ which is usually valid on a specific train you may use it to travel on any of their trains on this route.

If you have an ‘off-peak’ or ‘super off-peak’ ticket you may use it on board peak Time trains on this route today.

If you have a ticket dated for travel today and decide not to travel you may use your ticket to travel tomorrow, 27 July, instead.

East Midlands Railway trains are likely to experience extended delays or alterations. You should use alternative routes which will be most comfortable and the quickest way to get where you need to be. Your ticket can be used at no extra cost to travel via the following alternative routes:

Sheffield

You may travel to Doncaster with CrossCountry, TransPennine Express or Northern where you should change for a train to London Kings Cross. It is likely to take between 2 and 2.5 hours to complete this journey. LNER, who run the trains between Doncaster and London Kings Cross recommend booking a seat reservation. This can be done up to 5 minutes before the train departs.

You can view lots of useful information about what to expect when travelling via London Kings Cross.

Derby / Chesterfield

You may travel to Birmingham New Street with CrossCountry where you should change for a train to London Euston with London Northwestern Railway or Avanti West Coast. It is likely to take between 2.5 and 3 hours to complete this journey. Lots of useful information about what to expect when travelling via London Euston is available to view.

Nottingham

You may travel to Grantham with EMR where you should change for a train to London Kings Cross. It is likely to take between 2 and 2.5 hours to complete this journey. LNER, who run the trains between Grantham and London Kings Cross recommend booking a seat reservation. This can be done up to 5 minutes before the train departs.

You can view lots of useful information about what to expect when travelling via London Kings Cross.

Leicester

You may travel to Nuneaton with Cross Country where you should change for a train to London Euston with Avanti West Coast or London Northwestern Railway. It is likely to take 2 hours to complete this journey. Lots of useful information about what to expect when travelling via London Euston is available to view.

All of these alternative route options are available in the opposite direction too. Don’t worry about your ticket, other train operators know about the disruption to your journey and your ticket can be used at no extra cost on their trains.

East Midlands Railway promise that if you need to start your outward journey from a different operator's station due to this disruption, then you will also be able to travel back to that station when you return, regardless of if the disruption has ended or your ticket type. Rail industry colleagues will welcome you on board with your original ticket.

These arrangements will remain in place until the line re-opens and the train service recovers.

Thameslink customer advice:

Trains can now run between Luton and St Albans again. You can now travel on your booked route.

Thameslink are working to return to their scheduled timetable, but please continue to check journey planners and station information boards before you travel. Some trains in the area will still be disrupted, and your journey may take up to at least 60 minutes longer than usual.

Please be aware that due to our crew and trains not being where they should be, trains are likely to be cancelled or revised.

Catching a flight?

If you are travelling to Gatwick Airport / Luton Airport Parkway, please allow at least an extra 90 minutes for your journey to ensure you make your flight connections.

Can I use my ticket with another operator?

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

North of London

• Thameslink services between London St Pancras International, Hitchin and Peterborough

• Great Northern services between London Kings Cross, Moorgate, Hitchin and Peterborough

• London Northwestern between London Euston, Bletchley, St Albans Abbey and Bedford

• EMR services between London St Pancras International and Bedford

• London Underground services between London terminals including London Euston

South of London

• Southern services between South Coast (including Brighton) to London terminals

• Thameslink services between - Brighton and London terminals

• Gatwick Express services between Brighton and London Victoria

Planning your journey:

Live departure boards can be viewed.

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 Thameslink app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Trains are likely to have some delays due to a fault with a signal in this area. In this case, the signal is unable to show the normal coloured light indications to drivers, and instead, it's showing a red light. This means drivers have to stop at the signal and gain verbal instructions to continue. Your journey will unfortunately take longer as a result.

Railway signals are designed to warn drivers that they have to stop because the system can't yet confirm that the route ahead is clear. In most places, the signalling system will show a green light, or aspect, when the track is clear for a long distance ahead, and drivers will then be shown one or two yellow lights to warn them when they are approaching a red signal. This means that they can anticipate the amount of braking that's required to stop before they reach another train or any form of problem on the line.

Signalling runs on "fail safe" principles, so if the signals can't step through the usual colours, they will instead show a more restrictive colour - for example, red instead of green. This means drivers will have to stop, but in fact, the route ahead may still be clear. This leads to delays.

The signalling system is maintained by Network Rail, and we're working closely with them to diagnose the fault and make sure it is fixed as quickly as possible. Until this is done, operators will be closely monitoring the train service and doing their best to keep to the timetable.

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 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.