Disruption to Thameslink services between London St Pancras International and West Hampstead Thameslink expected until 16:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Rainham (Kent) and Luton, between Sutton (Surrey and St Albans City), and between Brighton / Three Bridges and Bedford

Description

There is a points failure near London St Pancras International. As a result of this, Thameslink services between London St Pancras International and West Hampstead Thameslink may be delayed by up to 10 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 16:00.

East Midlands Railway services are also affected by this incident, see here for their information.

Customer advice

You can continue to travel using your normal route, but your journey may take up to 10 minutes longer than usual.

Please check journey planners and station information boards before you travel, and allow extra time to reach your destination.

Live departure boards can be found here and you can check our live map here to see if your journey has been affected.

You can also use the Thameslink app to find up-to-date travel information.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A points failure has been reported which affects London St Pancras International high-level platforms and East Midlands Railway services. This may lead to knock-on delays affecting Thameslink services between London St Pancras International and West Hampstead Thameslink.

Points are moveable sections of track which can send trains onto different routes at junctions. These are part of the signalling system, generally managed by Network Rail.

Points can stop moving correctly for several reasons. For example, there may be an obstruction in the moving parts, or the electronic control systems may have developed a fault.

There are various backup systems which allow signallers to try to "set" the points, and in some cases, the points may be available for trains in one of the directions they serve, but not another. However, with more severe failures, the line in question may be blocked entirely.

Network Rail will send their specialist Signalling & Telecoms teams to the site, and they will set up a safe method of working on the track. To allow staff to access the railway, sometimes we have to stop trains completely, which can lead to your train being held at stations or signals en route.

As soon as it's safe to go on the line, the staff will diagnose the fault and find any quick solutions to resolve it.

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.