An operational incident between City Thameslink and London Blackfriars means that the southbound lines are blocked. Trains running between London St Pancras International and London Blackfriars may be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised.
Disruption is expected until 14:00.
Customer advice
Thameslink trains are likely to be disrupted in the Central London area.
An empty train has stopped between City Thameslink and London Blackfriars due to an operational incident. This is blocking the line which is usually used by southbound trains, towards Three Bridges, Brighton, Horsham, Rainham, Sutton and Wimbledon.
These trains may use another line through the area, but this will cause delays to northbound trains as well.
Because of the congestion, we expect trains may need to terminate before they get to the area, and some will also be cancelled throughout their journeys.
Late-running trains may call at fewer stations en route.
Please leave at least 45 minutes of extra time for your journey and consider using another route, if one is available in your area.
Service changes:
Trains between Cambridge and Brighton are likely to be cancelled at short notice.
You are likely to need to use alternative Thameslink or Great Northern services between Cambridge and London Kings Cross, and Southern or Gatwick Express between London and Brighton.
Trains between Bedford and Three Bridges (via Redhill) are also likely to be cancelled at short notice.
You are likely to need to use alternative Thameslink services between Bedford and East Croydon, and Southern services or local buses between East Croydon, Redhill and Three Bridges.
Where trains on the above two routes have already started their journeys, some may now be terminated en route. This means you may have to change trains to get to your destination.
Trains between St Albans City and Sutton / Wimbledon will be reduced in number, with some cancellations.
This means you may need to wait for an alternative train, which is likely to be at least 15-30 minutes after your planned journey, and these trains will also be delayed.
Trains which usually run between Luton and Rainham will instead run as shuttle services between Dartford and Rainham.
You are likely to need to use alternative Thameslink services between Luton and London Bridge, and Southeastern services between London Bridge and Dartford.
Trains between Bedford and Brighton, and between Peterborough and Horsham, will generally run, but with severe delays likely.
Ticket acceptance on alternative routes:
Your Thameslink ticket will be accepted at no extra cost on the following alternative routes:
North of London:
- Greater Anglia services between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street
- LNER services between Peterborough, Stevenage and London Kings Cross
- East Midlands Railway services between Bedford, Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and London St Pancras International
- Great Northern services between Cambridge and London Kings Cross
London area:
- London Underground services on any reasonable route
- London Buses between Finsbury Park / West Hampstead, Central London and Croydon / Sutton / Wimbledon / Redhill
- London Trams between Wimbledon, Mitcham Junction and East Croydon
- Docklands Light Railway services between Central London and Greenwich / Woolwich Arsenal
South of London:
- Southern services on any reasonable route, although please be aware the route to & from London Victoria is disrupted
- Southeastern services between London and Herne Hill / Rainham, and on any other reasonable route
- South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and Wimbledon
- Metrobus on any reasonable route, including buses between Merstham / Redhill and Gatwick Airport, and routes to & from Horsham and Brighton
- Brighton & Hove Buses around Brighton, Preston Park and Hove
Can you tell me more about the incident?
Thameslink have been advised that there may have been an issue with the pantograph equipment on an empty train departing south from City Thameslink. Pantographs are devices mounted on the top of a train to collect power from the overhead wires. The pantograph equipment may not have been lowered as usual in this area, as this part of the network does not have overhead wires. Network Rail are working to assess whether this has happened, and whether any defects may have been caused by this issue.
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.