Lines reopened: disruption between London St Pancras International and Luton expected until 22:00  

Route(s) affected

All East Midlands Railway services to / from London St Pancras International

Thameslink between Sutton (Surrey) and St Albans City, between Brighton / Three Bridges and Bedford, and also between Orpington / Rainham (Kent) and Luton

Description

Following a safety inspection of the track between London St Pancras International and Luton all lines have reopened. As service recovers, trains may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 22:00.

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

Trains running through the area will be diverted where possible. Trains will be delayed by up to 30 minutes in both directions.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on Thameslink trains between London St Pancras International and Bedford. Please note that these trains are also affected by this disruption.

Thameslink Customer advice:

If you are travelling between West Hampstead Thameslink and St Albans, you can now use your normal route, but please allow at least an extra 15 minutes to complete your journey this evening.

All lines are now open, and services are resuming on their booked lines. However, residual delays, cancellations, and short-notice revisions may continue while we work to return trains and crew to their correct positions.

Please check online journey planners and live departure boards before travelling for the latest real-time updates.

Ticket Acceptance

To help you complete your journey on an alternative route you can use your ticket on any of the following at no extra cost:

• Southern between Three Bridges, Sutton and London

• Thameslink on any other reasonable route

Planning your journey:

You can use live departure boards, a live map of the network and the alternative route guide to help you.

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?

Earlier today, a train driver reported a track defect causing uneven movement between Elstree & Borehamwood and Radlett.

Following an initial inspection and a temporary safety speed restriction, lines were temporarily closed to allow Network Rail response staff to safely carry out emergency repairs.

Those track repairs are now complete, and all lines have safely reopened. Services are resuming across the route, though trains and crews will take some time to get back into their booked positions.

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.