Problem rectified: disruption between West Hampstead Thameslink and London Blackfriars expected until 12:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Bedford and Three Bridges / East Grinstead / Haywards Heath / Horsham / Brighton, between Luton and West Hampstead Thameslink / Elephant & Castle / Rainham (Kent) / Orpington, and also between St Albans City and Sutton

Description

All lines have now reopened following an earlier earlier fault on a train between West Hampstead Thameslink and London Blackfriars. Trains running between these stations may continue to be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 12:00.

Customer advice:

If you are travelling between West Hampstead Thameslink and London Blackfriars you can travel on your normal route, but services will be disrupted.

You will need to allow at least an additional 45 minutes to complete your journey if you are heading towards London.

If you are heading towards West Hampstead Thameslink please allow an additional 20 minutes to complete your journey.

The scheduled timetable will be resumed as soon as possible, 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 30 minutes longer than usual.

Can I use my ticket with another operator?

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

• East Midlands Railway between Bedford and London St Pancras International

• London Buses between West Hampstead Thameslink and London Bridge

• London Underground between all London terminals

• Thameslink services between Bedford and London Blackfriars

• Southern services between Sutton and London Victoria

Planning your journey:

You can see live departure boards, a live map and 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?

There was a report of a fault on a train, and this is was causing delays to other services travelling through this area.

The train fault has now been fixed, and services will be returned to the booked timetable as soon as possible.

Normally, when a fault on a train occurs, crews will gather details and report this to Fleet teams. If possible, the defect will be fixed promptly, and get the train on the way. These initial steps are designed to take around 10 minutes.

However, sometimes the fault cannot be fixed in this time frame. In this case, wherever possible, the train will be taken out of use and sent to a depot. This does take additional time, as the crew will need to make sure that everyone's managed to leave the train.

If this can't be done either, specialist engineers will be sent to site, known as "fitters". Fitters are based in key locations around the network, 24 hours a day, and they are able to attend anywhere on routes. Once they are on site, progress updates will be monitored to ensure that the railway can be reopened as promptly as possible.

Until the defective train can be moved, attempts will be made to find a way to get other trains around the issue. This depends how many lines are available, and whether the signalling equipment is set up to allow trains to be routed around the problem. This is more often the case on our major routes, but not always. Work will be undertaken with Network Rail's controllers to decide how many more trains can be sent through the area, and if this isn't possible, alternative solutions will be explored to help you continue your journey.

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.