Disruption between Hitchin and Royston expected until 08:00

A fault with the signalling system between Hitchin and Royston means trains running between these stations may be delayed or revised.

Disruption is expected until 08:00.

Customer Advice

Following an earlier fault with the signalling system, trains between Royston and Hitchin are now running as normal.

Staff are working to return to a scheduled timetable, but please continue to check journey planners and station information boards as some trains may still be delayed, or revised at short notice.  

Check a live map here to see if your journey has been affected.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

In this particular situation, the fault has been confirmed as a 'Track Circuit Failure'. This means the signalling system is unable to automatically verify if the next section of the track past the affected signal is clear.

The rail network is designed so that if a signal stops working, trains will stop before they reach it. Whilst this issue is ongoing, the train crew will stop at the affected signal and contact the signalling centre to confirm their location. At this point, the signaller will verbally authorise the driver to continue towards the next signal. This process adds time to every train's journey, which means services can experience delays.

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.