Lines reopened: disruption between London St Pancras International and Luton expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

between London St Pancras International and Luton

Description

Lines have now reopened following a fault with the signalling system at Harpenden. As service recovers, trains running between London St Pancras International and Luton may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 40 minutes or revised.

This is expected until the end of the day.

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

You should continue to travel as originally planned however your journey may be delayed by 60 minutes. We are sorry for the delay to your journey today.

Tickets can be used with Thameslink between London St Pancras and Bedford, however they are also currently unable to run trains in the area, however once trains can run again East Midlands Railway tickets will be accepted.

East Midlands Railway are currently looking at rail replacement buses from Luton to travel into London St Pancras also calling at Luton Airport Parkway.

Thameslink customer advice:

Services will be severely disrupted between St Albans City and Luton. This is due to a signalling failure near Harpenden. You may face some delays, cancellations and last minute alterations.

Some trains may be terminating and restarting at different stations to normal. Please leave an extra 30 minutes to reach your destination and plan ahead .

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

Ticket Acceptance:

You can use your existing at no extra cost on the following services:

• Alternative Thameslink services between London and Bedford

• Great Northern services between London and Hitchin

• East Midlands Railway services between London and Bedford, including rail replacement buses from Luton

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 Thameslink'sWhatsApp channel. Live updates are available Monday to Friday, 07:00–21:00.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Trains will be disrupted due to a fault with a signals in this area. In this case, the signals are unable to show the normal coloured light indications to drivers, and instead, are showing a red light. This means drivers have to stop at the signal and gain verbal instructions to continue.

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 work is being done with them to diagnose the fault and make sure it is fixed as quickly as possible.

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.