Lines reopened: delays to Thameslink services between London St Pancras International and St Albans City expected until 09:15 

Route(s) affected

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

Description

All lines towards St Albans City have now reopened following a fault on a train between West Hampstead Thameslink and St Albans City. As service recovers, trains running between London St Pancras International and St Albans City may be delayed by up to 15 minutes.

This is expected until 09:15.

Customer advice:

Trains can now run between West Hampstead Thameslink and St Albans again. You can now travel on your booked route.

Work is being done to return to our scheduled timetable, 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 15 minutes longer than usual.

Planning your journey:

For help planning your journey, check live departure boards, view a live network map or see alternative route guides.

If you’re travelling within London, you can use the TfL Journey Planner.

Stay up to date on the move with Thameslink's WhatsApp channel. Live updates are available Monday to Friday, 07:00–21:00.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

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

Normally, when a fault on a train occurs, crews will gather details and report this to the Fleet teams. If possible, the defect will be fixed promptly, and we'll 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". There are fitters based in key locations around the network, 24 hours a day, and they are able to attend anywhere on the routes. Once they are on site, progress updates will be monitored and ensure that the railway can be reopened as promptly as possible.

Until the defective train can be moved, work will be done to try 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 done 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 assessed to help you continue your journey.

Ticket flexibility:

If your train is cancelled, you will be able to travel on an alternative service operated by any other participating train company, either two hours before or two hours after the original departure time of the cancelled service, in order to reach your destination.

If you decide not to travel or cannot complete your journey due to cancellations, you are entitled to a full refund from your original point of sale.

For further information and guidance please contact your train company or speak to a member of railway staff.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail 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.