Lines reopened between Peterborough / Cambridge and London Kings Cross: disruption expected until 21:30 

Route(s) affected

between Peterborough and London Kings Cross

Description

Lines have reopened following a fault on a train between Welwyn Garden City and Alexandra Palace. As service recovers, trains running between Peterborough / Cambridge and London Kings Cross may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 21:30.

Great Northern / Thameslink customer advice:

If you are travelling from Welwyn Garden City towards Alexandra Palace you can travel on your normal route, but you will need to allow at least an additional 30 minutes to complete your journey.

Please talk to station staff, look at the information boards or check your journey planner for the most recent information.

How are they are changing their service?

While this disruption is ongoing, they will be making the following changes to services:

Trains that normally run towards Moorgate / Kings Cross and from Welwyn Garden City will not call at Hadley Wood or New Barnet.

Trains that normally run between from Kings Lynn and Kings Cross will only run between Kings Lynn and Cambridge.

How do I get to Hadley Wood and New Barnet?

If you require these stations continue on to Oakleigh Park and catch a Great Northern service heading towards Welwyn Garden City.

Please be aware that this will add an additional 20 - 30 minutes to your journey today.

How do I get from London to Kings Lynn?

If you are trying to go from London Kings Cross to Kings Lynn you will need to travel to London St Pancras International which is 5 minutes away. From there you can catch a Thameslink service towards Cambridge. At you will be able to connect with a Great Northern service to your destination.

Please be aware that this will add an additional 15 minutes to your journey today.

Planning your journey:

You can check train departures from your station here:

• Thameslink live departure boards

• Great Northern live departure boards

You can see live maps of the network here:

• Thameslink live map

• Great Northern live map

You can also see alternative route guides here:

• Thameslink alternative route guide

• Great Northern 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 also use the Thameslink or Great Northern apps to get more information about your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Thameslink / Great Northern have got disruption to services because of a problem with the pantograph equipment on a train. Pantographs are roof-mounted devices which allow trains to collect electricity from the overhead wires.

Within a pantograph, a spring-loaded arm holds a carbon tube against the overhead wires. This slides along the wires whilst the train is in motion, allowing trains to be continuously powered.

There are various faults which may occur - for example, electrical faults within the pantograph equipment itself, or debris causing an obstruction, which can prevent the train from drawing power.

In most cases, if a fault is detected, the train will stop and the driver will receive a warning message in their cab. Safety checks will then be needed to investigate whether it could be an issue with the train, or an external fault with debris or the wires themselves. This can take some time, which leads to a delay to your journey.

Train operators are currently investigating today's incident alongside Network Rail, making sure they can run services as normal.

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.