Delays to Thameslink services between Herne Hill and Elephant & Castle expected until 11:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Sutton and St Albans City

Description

A fault with the signalling system in the Loughborough Junction area means some lines are blocked. Trains running between Herne Hill and Elephant & Castle may be delayed by up to 10 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 11:00.

Customer advice:

Due to a fault with the signalling system in the Loughborough Junction area, your journey may be subject to delays. You can continue to use your normal route to travel, but please allow up to 10 minutes to complete your journey.

For the latest information, check station screens and use online journey planners.

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 Thameslink app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A track circuit failure is affecting trains travelling in both directions on the route between Herne Hill and Elephant & Castle.

This part of the network uses track circuits to detect the position of trains. These are electrical systems which monitor whether a train is on a section of track. They operate as part of the signalling system, which is designed to be "fail safe".

When a track circuit fails, the signalling system will interpret this as a train remaining in place, even though there may not be a train present at all, or the previous service may have long since left the area.

As a result, further trains cannot be automatically allowed onto the relevant section of track. Train drivers will be stopped by red signals on approach. They will then get verbal permission from the signaller so that they can proceed, and will run at a heavily-reduced speed as far as the next signal. This is so that the drivers will stop safely if they see anything ahead of them.

In some areas, the sections between signals can be several miles long, so this can result in delays building up. Even with shorter sections of track affected, there would still be a delay of at least a few minutes to each journey.

Track circuit faults can be caused by a number of different issues, including electronic faults or obstructions on the track. Network Rail manage the signalling system, including track circuits, and their staff will be investigating as quickly as possible.

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.