Reduced service on Thameslink and Great Northern routes until approximately 12:00 

Route(s) affected

Thameslink and Great Northern routes

Description

A shortage of trains due extra safety inspections mean fewer trains are able to run across Thameslink and Great Northern routes. As a result, services may be cancelled.

This is expected until approximately 12:00.

Customer advice:

If you are travelling on Thameslink or Great Northern routes today, please check your journey before travelling, as multiple services across our network have been cancelled this morning. You may need to allow an extra 30 minutes to complete your journey or travel on an earlier or later train than originally planned.

Thameslink or Great Northern have discovered damage to several of their trains. For safety reasons, these units cannot enter service until they have been inspected and repaired. Because of this, cancellations are expected to continue throughout the day.

This is mainly affecting the following routes:

• Peterborough to Horsham

• Cambridge to Brighton

• Brighton/ Three Bridges to Bedford

While other routes may experience minor knock-on delays or some cancellations this morning, the routes listed above are currently the most affected.

When services are being cancelled we have updated journey planners to allow you to plan your journey with the latest information.

Ticket Acceptance

To help you complete your journey this morning you will be able to use your ticket on any of the following at no extra cost

• Thameslink on any alternative service via your normal route.

• Southern between London, Horsham and Hove

• Great Northern between London Kings Cross and Peterborough or Cambridge

Planning your journey:

You can check train departures from your station here:

• Thameslink live departure boards

• Great Northern live departure boards

You can view live maps of the network here:

• Thameslink live route map

• Great Northern live route 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.

Thameslink and Great Northern apps will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Damage has been identified on the pantographs (the roof-mounted arms that connect trains to the overhead electric wires to draw power) on a number of our Class 700 trains.

Running these trains with damaged pantographs risks causing severe, long-term damage to the overhead lines and the trains themselves. For safety reasons, Thameslink and Great Northern must keep these specific trains off the network until repairs are complete.

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.