Major disruption between London St Pancras International and Luton expected until 17:00 

Route(s) affected

East Midlands Railway between London St Pancras International and Corby / Nottingham / Sheffield

Thameslink between Brighton / Three Bridges / Gatwick Airport / East Grinstead and Bedford, and also between Rainham (Kent) and Luton

Description

A person has been hit by a train between London St Pancras International and Luton. Whilst the emergency services carry out their work, all lines between these stations are closed. Trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

Major disruption is expected until 17:00.

A visual disruption map video is available.

If you've been affected by what happened on the network today, there is always someone to talk to. You can contact the Samaritans on 116 123 from any phone for a confidential chat.

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

Your ticket can be used at no extra cost to travel via the following alternative routes:

Sheffield

You may travel to Doncaster with CrossCountry, TransPennine Express or Northern where you should change for a train to London Kings Cross. It is likely to take between 2 and 2.5 hours to complete this journey. LNER, who run the trains between Doncaster and London Kings Cross recommend booking a seat reservation. This can be done up to 5 minutes before the train departs on the LNER website. Visit the East Midlands Railway website for lots of useful information about what to expect when travelling via London Kings Cross.

Derby / Chesterfield

You may travel to Birmingham New Street with CrossCountry where you should change for a train to London Euston with London Northwestern Railway or Avanti West Coast. It is likely to take between 2.5 and 3 hours to complete this journey. Visit the East Midlands Railway website for lots of useful information about what to expect when travelling via London Euston.

Nottingham

You may travel to Grantham with EMR where you should change for a train to London Kings Cross. It is likely to take between 2 and 2.5 hours to complete this journey. LNER, who run the trains between Grantham and London Kings Cross recommend booking a seat reservation. This can be done up to 5 minutes before the train departs at the LNER website. Visit the East Midlands Railway website for lots of useful information about what to expect when travelling via London Kings Cross.

Leicester

You may travel to Nuneaton with CrossCountry where you should change for a train to London Euston with Avanti West Coast or London Northwestern Railway. It is likely to take 2 hours to complete this journey. Visit the East Midlands Railway website for lots of useful information about what to expect when travelling via London Euston.

Travel between Wellingborough and London

You can use your tickets to travel on the East Midlands Railway bus replacement service between Wellingborough and Northampton. From here you can take a London Northwestern Railway train from Northampton to London Euston.

East Midlands Railway have also sourced a very limited rail replacement bus service to keep you on the move, please speak to station staff for more information.

Travel throughout London

You may use your ticket at no extra cost on the London Underground between London St Pancras International / London Kings Cross / London Euston.

All of these alternative route options are available in the opposite direction too. Don’t worry about your ticket, other train operators know about the disruption to your journey and your ticket can be used at no extra cost on their trains.

If you need to start your outward journey from a different operator's station due to this disruption, then you will also be able to travel back to that station when you return, regardless of if the disruption has ended or your ticket type. Rail industry colleagues will welcome you on board with your original ticket.

Thameslink customer advice:

Services are unable to run in either direction between West Hampstead Thameslink, St Albans City, Luton, and Bedford.

At present, delaying your journey until later today is advised. We are expecting some lines to be reopened in the next 10-15 minutes.

If you must travel now, you will need to use an alternative route to complete your journey. Journeys will take around 60 minutes longer than usual, so if you do travel please allow plenty of extra time.

Changes to services:

The following service changes are in place in both directions:

Bedford to Three Bridges (stopping services via Redhill): have been suspended until further notice

If you are planning to travel on this route, between Bedford and London you are strongly advised to delay travel. If you are travelling between London and Three Bridges, please use alternative Thameslink services between Peterborough and Horsham.

St Albans to Wimbledon / Sutton: Will be suspended until further notice

If you are travelling between St Albans and London you are strongly advised to delay travel. If you must travel now, please use Great Northern services between Hatfield and London connecting between Hatfield and St Albans with Arriva buses.

If you are travelling between London and Sutton, please use alternative Southern services between London Victoria / London Bridge and Sutton.

If you are travelling between London and Wimbledon, please use alternative South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and Wimbledon.

If you are travelling between Wimbledon and Sutton, please use alternative London Buses.

Bedford to Brighton: Cancelled, or amended to run between London (London Bridge / London St Pancras International) and Brighton only

If you are travelling between London and Bedford we strongly advise to delay travel until later this afternoon. To travel between Luton and London, please use alternative Thameslink services between St Pancras and Stevenage, connecting between Stevenage and Luton with Arriva buses.

Peterborough to Horsham

These trains will call additionally at Earlswood and Salfords where required to cover for suspended services.

Luton to Rainham: Will run between Dartford and Rainham only

If you are travelling between Dartford and London, please use alternative Southeastern services between Dartford and London or Elizabeth line service between Farringdon and Abbey Wood. To travel between Luton and London, please use alternative Thameslink services between St Pancras and Stevenage, connecting between Stevenage and Luton with Arriva buses.

Ticket acceptance:

Tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on the following operators and routes:

North of London:

• Great Northern: Via any reasonable route (please note Great Northern is running an amended timetable today with rail replacement buses in operation due to planned engineering work)

• London Northwestern Railway: Between London Euston and Watford Junction, and on the Abbey Line between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey

• Avanti West Coast: Between London Euston and Watford Junction

• London Overground: Between London Euston and Watford Junction, and to/from West Hampstead

• London Buses: On any reasonable route between Central London and the Elstree & Borehamwood area

• Arriva Buses:

  • A / Z / X1 / X2 / X3 between Luton Airport, Luton Airport Parkway (Kimpton Road) and Luton Town

  • 4 / 4A / 23/ 27 / 28 between Leagrave Station and Luton Town

  • 755 / 757 between Luton and London Victoria

  • 302 between St Albans, Hatfield, and Welwyn Garden City

  • 321 between Luton, Harpenden, and St Albans, and then on to Watford Junction

  • 724 between St Albans City and Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, and Hertford North, and also on to Watford Junction

  • 725 between St Albans City and Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, and Knebworth, and also on to Watford Junction

  • 100 / 101 between Luton, Hitchin, and Stevenage

  • 301 between St Albans, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Knebworth and Stevenage

  • 302 between St Albans, Hatfield, and Welwyn Garden City

• Uno Buses:

  • 602 between Radlett (Recreational Ground), St Albans City and Hatfield

  • 610 between Luton Town Centre, Harpenden and Hatfield

  • 653 between St Albans, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City

• Arriva Buses

Within London:

• London Underground: Via any reasonable route, including between London Terminals and to/from Kentish Town and West Hampstead

• London Buses: Across Central London connecting Thameslink terminals

• Elizabeth line: Between Farringdon and Abbey Wood

South of London:

• Southern: Via any reasonable route, including between London, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, and Brighton

• Gatwick Express: Between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport

• South Western Railway: Between London Waterloo, Clapham Junction, and Wimbledon

• London Trams: Between East Croydon and Wimbledon

• London Buses: On any reasonable route between Central London and Wimbledon

Replacement buses:

Replacement buses have been sourced. You can use them to get to your destination. These buses are expected to arrive at 13:30. They are then due to operate on the following routes:

• St Albans to Hatfield with a journey time of around 45 minutes. These are being supplied by Rickard Taylors

• Luton standby bus to run under station instruction being supplied by Britannia

Further buses between Luton and Bedford have been requested but these have not yet been confirmed.

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.

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.

For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page.

You can find the pick-up and drop-off location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page.

Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.

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.