Disruption between London Kings Cross and Peterborough / Cambridge expected until 20:00 

Route(s) affected

Grand Central services between London Kings Cross and Bradford Interchange / Sunderland

Great Northern services between London Kings Cross and Letchworth Garden City / Royston / Cambridge / Ely / Peterborough / Kings Lynn

Hull Trains services between London Kings Cross and Beverley / Hull

LNER services between London Kings Cross and Lincoln / Leeds / Harrogate / Bradford Forster Square / Skipton / York / Newcastle / Edinburgh / Aberdeen

Lumo services between London Kings Cross and Newcastle / Edinburgh

Thameslink services between Sevenoaks and Welwyn Garden City, and also between Horsham and Peterborough

Description

A safety inspection of the track between Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage means that trains will have to run at reduced speed on some northbound lines. As a result services between London Kings Cross and Peterborough / Cambridge may be delayed up to 30 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 20:00.

Some services may divert via Hertford North where possible.

Customer advice for Thameslink / Great Northern:

Delays up to 30 minutes are possible, and some services may be subject to short notice alterations and cancellations. This means some services may have cancelled stops, or will terminate and restart at a different station to normal.

The following changes are expected to services running in both directions until further notice:

• Thameslink services that run between Brighton and Cambridge will be suspended

• Great Northern services that run between London Kings Cross and Cambridge will be reduced

• Great Northern services that run between London Kings Cross and Ely / Kings Lynn will be reduced

In addition to this there will be delays up to 30 minutes and some services may be subject to short notice alterations and cancellations. This means some services may have cancelled stops, or will terminate and restart at a different station to normal.

Please check before you travel this evening and allow plenty of extra time - we'd advise at least an additional 30 minutes to complete your journey. You may have to take a different train than planned, or change trains en route in order to complete your journey this evening.

Ticket acceptance:

Your tickets will be accepted on the following services at no additional costs:

• Thameslink and Great Northern services on any reasonable route towards your destination

• East Midlands Railway services between Ely and Peterborough

• CrossCountry services between Cambridge, Ely and Peterborough

• Greater Anglia services between London Liverpool Street, Cambridge, Ely and Peterborough

• LNER services between London Kings Cross, Stevenage and Peterborough

• London Underground services on any reasonable route

Replacement buses:

Thameslink / Great Northern have requested buses from suppliers, but are still waiting for confirmation. If buses are available, we'll update this message with the details.

Bus journeys will take longer than the usual train service, and if possible, we'll provide a time estimate.

Planning your journey:

You can check train departures from your station here:

• Thameslink live departure boards

• Great Northern live departure boards
  

You can see live maps of our network here:

• Thameslink live map

• Great Northern live map
  

You can see our 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.

You can also use the Thameslink / Great Northern apps to find up-to-date information.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

We have had a report of a possible issue with the track in the affected area. Network Rail's engineers are attending as quickly as possible to carry out a detailed inspection.

There are various different types of defects, and the first advice usually comes from drivers or other staff travelling through the area. Response staff will check the location which has been specified and find out whether the track is still supported correctly, whether the rails themselves are in the usual condition, and if there are any problems with the fixings and metalwork which attach the rails to the sleepers.

Until this is done, trains will need to run at a much slower speed than usual, which will lead to a delay to your journey. This is a necessary safety precaution.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries 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 set-down 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.