Disruption to Thameslink services between St Albans City and West Hampstead Thameslink expected until 10:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Bedford and Rainham / East Grinstead / Gatwick Airport / Three Bridges / Horsham / Brighton, between Luton and Elephant & Castle / Gillingham / Rainham / Sutton / Orpington, and also between St Albans City and Sutton

Description

A broken down freight train between St Albans City and West Hampstead Thameslink means that some lines are blocked.

As a result, Thameslink trains running between these stations may be cancelled or revised.

This is expected until 10:00.

Customer advice:

Due to a broken down freight train in the Upper Holloway area, your journey may be subject to delays or alternations at short notice. You may also need to change trains to reach your destination.

Trains towards London will be busier that normal, and you should allow up to 30 minutes additional time to complete your journey.

For the latest information, check station screens and use online journey planners.

Ticket acceptance:

Your ticket may be used at no extra cost on the following:

• Alternative Thameslink and Southern services

• London Underground services between London Terminals

• Southeastern services between Orpington and Bromley South

Service changes:

• Services that normally run between Luton and Orpington have been suspended until further notice

• Services that normally run between Bedford and East Grinstead have been suspended until further notice

Travel advice:

Passengers who are travelling between Bedford / Luton and East Grinstead / Orpington are advised to travel on the next available Thameslink service towards London Blackfriars, London Bridge East Croydon or Three Bridges and change as required for onward connections.

For services towards Orpington:

Please use alternative Thameslink services towards London Bridge. From there, change for Southeastern services towards Orpington.

For services towards East Grinstead:

Please use alternative Thameslink services towards East Croydon. From there, change for Southern services towards East Grinstead.

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?

Unfortunately, a freight has developed a fault. The nature of the issue means it can't move, so it's blocking the line through this area.

It's likely that in this case, we'll need to send our specialist engineers to site, known as "fitters". We have fitters based in key locations around the network, 24 hours a day, and they are able to attend anywhere on our routes. Once they are on site, we'll then monitor progress updates and ensure that the railway can be reopened as promptly as possible.

We may also need to send another train to tow the defective one away. This procedure, known as arranging a rescue train, will be done as quickly as possible, usually by sending a similar type of train to attach. The combined train will be taken out of use and sent to a depot.

Until the defective train can be moved, we will 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. We'll work with Network Rail's controllers to decide how many more trains can be sent through the area, and if this isn't possible, we'll see what alternative solutions are available to help you continue your journey.

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.