Disruption in the Watford Junction area expected until 19:00 

Route(s) affected

Avanti West Coast between London Euston and Birmingham New Street / Wolverhampton/ Wrexham General / Crewe / Chester / Holyhead / Liverpool Lime Street / Manchester Piccadilly / Preston / Blackpool North / Edinburgh / Glasgow Central

London Northwestern Railway between London Euston and St Albans Abbey / Tring / Bletchley / Milton Keynes Central / Northampton / Birmingham New Street / Crewe

Southern between East Croydon and Watford Junction

Description

A fault with the signalling system in the Watford Junction area means that some lines are disrupted. As a result, trains running through this station may be delayed by up to 10 minutes, cancelled or revised.

Disruption is expected until 19:00.

Southern customer advice:

Southern services that normally run between East Croydon and Watford Junction will run only between East Croydon and Shepherds Bush.

For journeys to / from stations between Shepherds Bush and Watford Junction, you'll need to change trains and use London Overground services to complete your journey. This will add about 15-20 minutes, so please allow extra time for your journey.

Additional ad-hoc alterations to services are possible, meaning your train may not stop at some advertised stations, or will be started / terminated at a different station than planned.

You may also wish to use London Northwestern Railway services between London Euston and Watford Junction. Ticket acceptance is also in place with London Underground for travel between London Euston and London Victoria.

Please make sure to check your train before arriving at the station using live departure boards and journey planners.

If you're already onboard a service, please listen out for announcements regarding any short-notice changes to your service.

Tickets will be accepted for no extra cost on the following:

• Alternative Southern services on any reasonable route, including services to / from London Victoria

• London Overground on the Mildmay line between Clapham Junction, Shepherds Bush and Willesden Junction and also the Lioness line between Willesden Junction and Watford Junction

• London Northwestern Railway services between London Euston and Watford Junction - please note these services are currently running to reduced timetable at present due to a separate signalling issue

• London Underground services on any reasonable route including between London Victoria and London Euston

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 Southern app to find up-to-date information.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

This part of the network uses axle counters to detect trains by tracking their wheels. If one fails, the system may think a train is still there, preventing others from moving forward.

Drivers must stop at red signals and get verbal permission to proceed at a reduced speed, which can cause significant delays, especially in areas with long track sections.

Faults can be caused by electronic issues or debris. Network Rail is investigating, and we’ll share updates as soon as we have them. Thank you for your patience and we're very sorry for the disruption to your journey today.

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.