Media centre

Wednesday 9 Nov 2016

Luton train disruption – 1700 update for Thameslink and East Midlands Trains customers

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Rail passengers are being advised to check before they travel on Thursday 10 November as some continued disruption is expected to Thameslink services with alterations also possible on East Midlands Trains.  

Teams from the operators and Network Rail are continuing to develop the best possible train service for the morning as engineers continue to work to fix signalling equipment which was damaged at Luton.

A piece of cable came into contact with the overhead wires at approximately 2:45pm on Tuesday 8 November. This caused a power failure and damaged the signalling equipment which controls train movements. Engineers have been on site since the incident but are still working through the complicated equipment to find and fix all of the damage.  

Rob McIntosh, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “I am sorry for the continued disruption to passengers.  I know this situation is immensely frustrating and our engineers are working to resume services as quickly as possible.    

“The signalling equipment which has been damaged is an essential part of how we move trains safely so we need to be methodical and meticulous as we fix it.  This work will continue for the rest of the day, overnight and into tomorrow (Thursday).  As soon as we are confident of when full services will resume we will work with the train operators to tell passengers.”  

A Thameslink spokesperson said: "We'd like to apologise for the continued severe disruption so many of our passengers are experiencing. While Network Rail is working on the problem we urge people to check travel advice at thameslinkrailway.com and use alternative transport wherever possible. We are doing all we can to keep people updated through our web, app and Twitter feed and have extra staff out on the ground."  

An East Midlands Trains spokesperson said:  "We're sorry for the disruption our customers have experienced today.  We're working hard to keep customers on the move whilst Network Rail engineers carry out the necessary repairs works.  We have detailed information on our website which includes advice on alternative routes that our customers can use, and we also have extra staff out at stations helping customers with their travel."  

Passengers who are delayed by 30 minutes or more should claim compensation via the operators' websites  

Travel advice:  

East Midlands Trains East Midlands Trains is planning to run a near normal timetable on its London route on Thursday 10 November, for further information and updates visit http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/information/media/Disruption-Information/DELAYS-Luton-Bedford/


Thameslink A very limited service will continue this evening.  Passengers are urged to use alternative routes wherever possible, including the Great Northern route from stations such as St Neots, Hitchin and Hatfield into London King's Cross. Thameslink car park season tickets are valid at Great Northern stations and other Thameslink stations. Please check www.thameslinkrailway.com for more information.

Passengers are advised to check for updates on travel for Thursday 10 November at thameslinkrailway.com and eastmidlandstrains.co.uk.

 

Members of the public looking for train information should contact 03457 48 49 50