Lines reopened: disruption to Thameslink services through London Bridge until 12:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Bedford and Brighton / East Grinstead / Gatwick Airport / Haywards Heath / Horsham / Rainham (Kent) / Three Bridges, between Cambridge and Brighton, between London Bridge / West Hampstead Thameslink and East Grinstead, between Luton and Gatwick Airport / Gillingham (Kent) / Rainham (Kent) / Three Bridges, between Peterborough and Horsham, between Kentish Town and Gillingham (Kent) / Rainham (Kent), between London Bridge and Horsham / Three Bridges, between West Hampstead Thameslink and Rainham (Kent)

Description

Lines have reopened following a points failure at London Bridge. As trains return to normal, Thameslink services running through this station may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 12:00.

Customer advice:

Earlier today, a points failure at London Bridge meant that southbound Thameslink services could not run through this station.

We had expected that we would have to make a number of changes to trains throughout the day, however, lines have reopened earlier than expected, and we are working to restore our full service.

This will take some time, because we had already put contingency plans in place across the network, and we will still have a number of service changes and cancellations, so please use our journey planning tools before going to the station.

You may need to wait longer for a train, change trains en route, or use an alternative route to get to your destination.

If your train is affected, we recommend you leave at least 20-30 minutes of extra time for your journey.

Thameslink service changes, and ticket acceptance on alternative journey options:

Ticket acceptance

• Mutually between Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink

• London Underground on any reasonable route

• London Buses between Dartford and London

• Greater Anglia between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge

• East Midlands Railway between London St Pancras International and Bedford

• Southeastern between Dartford and London

• Elizabeth line between Abbey Wood and Farringdon

• Docklands Light Railway between Woolwich Arsenal or Greenwich and Central London

Where alternative options are listed, tickets will be accepted at no extra cost. Using an alternative train or a different route will take longer than usual. The delay will depend on exactly how far you are travelling.

Brighton - Cambridge route:

These trains remain generally cancelled in both directions.

Alternative Thameslink services will run between Brighton and London St Pancras International.

Great Northern stopping services between London Kings Cross and Cambridge will still run. These services will stop at Ashwell and Morden in both directions all day.

Additionally, Great Northern express services between London Kings Cross and Ely / Kings Lynn will still run, and will stop at Finsbury Park and Stevenage in both directions all day.

London Kings Cross is next door to London International St Pancras station.

You can also use Greater Anglia services between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge.

East Grinstead - London Bridge / Bedford route (peak times only):

These trains will be cancelled in both directions this morning.

Normal Southern services will still run between East Grinstead and London Victoria, via East Croydon, where you can change for Thameslink services.

You can also use London Underground services to continue across London, and East Midlands Railway services between London St Pancras International, Luton Airport Parkway, Luton and Bedford.

Rainham - Luton route:

These trains are running as a shuttle service between Rainham and Dartford.

Alternative Southeastern services operate between Dartford and Central London. You can also use Elizabeth line services between Abbey Wood and Farringdon, Docklands Light Railway services between Woolwich Arsenal or Greenwich and Central London, London Buses serving stations between Dartford and Central London, and London Underground services to transfer across Central London.

Planning your journey:

You can see the live departure boards, and view a live map of the network.

You can also view 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.

You can use the Thameslink app to find up-to-date information.

Journeys involving Gatwick Airport and Luton Airport Parkway:

As this incident is having an impact on Thameslink services via Gatwick Airport and also via Luton Airport Parkway, please leave plenty of extra time for airport journeys.

Can you tell me more about the earlier incident?

Following routine overnight safety checks, it was believed that a set of points just north of London Bridge could not be used. This affected the route through platforms 3 and 4, used by southbound Thameslink services through this station.

Specialist testing equipment was used to gain more detail about the issue, and it has now been confirmed that trains can run normally. Thameslink are now working to get their trains and crews back in place, but this won't be an immediate process.

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.