A broken down train between Thetford and Norwich means lines are disrupted. As a result, trains running between Ely and Norwich may be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes.

Disruption is expected to continue until 17:00.

Customer advice:

East Midlands Railway

What has happened?

There is a broken down freight train between Thetford and Norwich. This is disrupting trains on the Liverpool Lime Street / Nottingham / Norwich route.

Network Rail are investigating the problem. A further team are due to arrive on site at 15:15 to examine the fault with the freight train. The team currently on site have confirmed that a rescue train is required. We do not have an estimated time that the freight train will be rescued.

How does this affect my train?

Trains running through the area in the Norwich direction cannot run between Thetford and Norwich.

Trains running through the area in the Thetford direction are not affected by this problem and can run normally between Norwich and Thetford. This is because these services run in the opposite direction. However, some services maybe delayed or have last minute cancellations due to the on board teams being displaced.

At present, East Midlands Railway are expecting the problem to be fixed in the next 2 hours. As soon as the problem is fixed the priority will be to get trains running to their advertised times again. East Midlands Railway expect their advertised timetable to resume on the affected routes by 17:00.

How do I get where I need to be? You should continue to travel as originally planned however your journey may be delayed by 60 minutes.

East Midlands Railway are currently looking at alternative arrangements to keep you on the move. Please remember that this can take time and be assured that staff are working tirelessly to arrange this as quickly as possible for you.

Greater Anglia

A freight train has broken down near Attleborough, and the line from Ely towards Norwich is currently blocked. The freight company have arranged for a rescue train, but this is not expected to recover the train until 17:00 at the very earliest. This is a similar process as to using a breakdown service for your car.

Network Rail are sending response teams to support the freight company with the recovery.

Alternative Travel Options

Greater Anglia are trying to source rail replacement vehicles to run between Norwich and Ely.

You can also travel between Norwich and Ely / Cambridge via Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, or via London Liverpool Street.

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 information, please use this page.

You can find the location of your replacement bus by checking station signs or by searching for your station on our station information pages.

​​​​​​​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.