Lines reopened: delays to Thameslink services between St Albans City and London St Pancras International expected until 11:30 

Route(s) affected

Trains between Bedford and Rainham (Kent) / Gatwick Airport / Three Bridges / East Grinstead / Haywards Heath / Brighton, and between Luton and Elephant & Castle / Orpington / Gillingham (Kent) / Rainham (Kent), and also between St Albans City and Sutton (Surrey)

Description

Lines have reopened following a vehicle striking a bridge between St Albans City and West Hampstead Thameslink.

As services return to normal, trains running through these stations may still be delayed by up to 20 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 11:30.

Customer advice:

Earlier today, a lorry struck a railway bridge near Radlett. All lines have reopened, but there is a speed restriction on one of the two southbound lines, and further work is needed to repair the damage.

Trains are likely to have some delays of around 10-20 minutes between St Albans City and West Hampstead Thameslink.

There will also be some cancellations and service changes, especially on the routes between St Albans City and Sutton, and between Bedford and Three Bridges via Redhill.

Where trains are changed, this means they may not stop at all the usual stations en route.

Please leave extra time for your journey, and check your train before heading to the station.

Alternative journey options:

If there is a long wait for a train, you may wish to consider an alternative route.

Your Thameslink ticket will be valid at no extra cost on:

North of London:

• East Midlands Railway services between Bedford, Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and London St Pancras International

Across the London area:

• Southern services between London and Sutton, between London Bridge and Tulse Hill / Streatham, and on any other reasonable route

• London Underground services on any reasonable route, including the District line between Wimbledon and Blackfriars, and on the Northern line between Morden and Kings Cross St Pancras

• London Buses on any route between Central London, Wimbledon and Sutton

• London Trams between Wimbledon, Mitcham Junction, West Croydon and East Croydon

• Southeastern services between London Victoria and Herne Hill

• South Western Railway services London Waterloo and Wimbledon

South of London towards Three Bridges:

• Southern services between central London and East Croydon, Redhill, Gatwick Airport and Three Bridges

For Earlswood and Salfords, alternative Thameslink services will stop at these stations, but you may need to change trains en route, if you need to travel to or from some stations north of London.

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 Thameslink app to find up-to-date information.

Can you tell me more about this?

Thameslink are working with Network Rail and local highways teams to make sure the bridge is made safe and lines are open at their full speeds.

Some of this work has had to wait until daylight hours, but is now underway. Thameslink will continue to monitor progress on site.

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.