A fault with the signalling system between Sandy and St Neots means that trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines towards Peterborough.

As a result, trains may be delayed by up to 10 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 17:00.

Customer advice:

Great Northern and Thameslink

Please allow an extra 10 minutes to complete your journey, and check station screens / journey planners for the latest information for your train.

You can check train departures from your station here:

• Great Northern live departure boards
• Thameslink live departure boards

You can view live maps of the network here:

• Great Northern live route map
• Thameslink live route map

You can see our alternative route guides here:

• Great Northern alternative route guide
• Thameslink alternative route guide

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

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A track circuit failure is disrupting trains which travel between Sandy and St Neots.

This part of the network uses track circuits to detect the position of trains. These are electrical systems which monitor whether a train is on a section of track. They operate as part of the signalling system, which is designed to be "fail safe".

When a track circuit fails, the signalling system will interpret this as a train remaining in place, even though there may not be a train present at all, or the previous service may have long since left the area.

As a result, further trains cannot be automatically allowed onto the relevant section of track. Train drivers will be stopped by red signals on approach. They will then get verbal permission from the signaller so that they can proceed, and will run at a heavily-reduced speed as far as the next signal. This is so that the drivers will stop safely if they see anything ahead of them.

In some areas, the sections between signals can be several miles long, so this can result in delays building up. Even with shorter sections of track affected, there would still be a delay of at least a few minutes to each journey.

Track circuit faults can be caused by a number of different issues, including electronic faults or obstructions on the track. Network Rail manage the signalling system, including track circuits, and their staff will be investigating as quickly as possible.

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.