Disruption between Luton and London St Pancras International expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

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

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

Description

A failure of the electricity supply in the Elstree & Borehamwood area means some lines are blocked. Trains running between Luton and London St Pancras International may be delayed by up to 25 minutes, cancelled or revised.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

How does this affect my train?

London Intercity Route:

Trains will be delayed between 15-20 minutes between Luton and London St Pancras International, some services will stop additionally at Wellingborough and Bedford. These will be updated in the online journey planners.

London Connect Route:

Services will be suspended between Corby / Luton Airport Parkway and London St Pancras International, in both directions for the rest of the day.

How do I get where I need to be?

You can use your original ticket at no extra cost to travel with the following train operators:

• Thameslink between Bedford and London St Pancras International, in both directions

Bus replacement shuttle service will run between Corby and Kettering in both directions until the end of day. This will extend journey times by up to 30 minutes.

If your train service is altered or cancelled, your original ticket will be valid on the next available service.

If you hold an ‘Advance Ticket’ which is usually valid on a specific train you may use it to travel on any train on this route.

If you have an ‘Off Peak’ or ‘Super Off Peak’ ticket you may use it on board peak time trains on this route today.

Thameslink customer advice:

Delays of around 15-25 minutes are possible in the Elstree & Borehamwood area, affecting southbound trains towards London. In addition to this, the following changes to services running in both directions are expected:

• Services that run between Bedford and Three Bridges (stopping services via Redhill) will be suspended

• Services that run between St Albans City and Sutton (via both Mitcham Junction and Wimbledon) may be cancelled - some services may also run non-stop between St Albans City and Kentish Town in the London-bound direction

• Services that run between Peterborough and Horsham will stop additionally at Earlswood and Salfords as required

• Services that run between Luton and Rainham (Kent) will likely be amended to run south of London only, for instance between London Blackfriars and Rainham (Kent), or Dartford and Rainham (Kent) only

Other services are expected to run, but may be subject to short notice alterations and cancellations. This means that some services may have cancelled stops, will terminate and restart at a different station to normal, or will be cancelled completely.

Please check your journey before you travel this evening using online journey planners and live departure boards. For most journeys, you can travel using your normal route but you may need to take a different train than planned, or change trains en route in order to complete your journey. For some journeys however, you may need to use an alternative route.

You should also allow extra time for your journey, we'd advise at least an extra 15-20 minutes.

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

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

• Southern services on any reasonable route including between London and East Croydon / Gatwick Airport / Three Bridges and also between London and Sutton

• South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and Wimbledon

• Southeastern services between London and Rainham (Kent)

• London Underground on any reasonable route

• London Trams between East Croydon, Mitcham Junction and Wimbledon

• London Buses on any reasonable route between London Blackfriars and Sutton via both Mitcham Junction and Wimbledon

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?

There's an issue with the power supply in the Elstree & Borehamwood area, which has resulted in one of the London-bound lines being blocked. Services can run using the other London-bound line but congestion-based delays are expected as a result, and a reduce to the number of trains running through the area.

Network Rail teams are on site and investigating some damage to the overhead electric wires and we'll provide further updates as we get them.

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.