A fault on a train at Stevenage means that some lines towards London are blocked. As a result, trains running between Hitchin and Stevenage may be delayed by up to 15 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 17:30.

Customer Advice

A train has broken down at Stevenage, blocking some of the lines towards London. If you are travelling now, your journey may take up to 15 minutes longer than usual, and you may need to change train more times than usual to reach your destination.

You can use your ticket to travel at no extra cost on

• Alternative Great Northern or Thameslink services on any reasonable route towards your destination

Please check journey planners and station information boards before you travel, and allow extra time to reach your destination.

Live departure boards can be found on both websites for Thameslink or Great Northern trains and you can check the live map here to see if your journey has been affected.

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

Can you tell me more about the incident?

There has been reports of a fault on a train in the Stevenage area, and this is now causing delays to other services travelling through this area.

Normally, when a fault on a train occurs, crews will gather details and report this to Fleet teams. If possible, the defect will be fixed promptly, and the train will be on the way. Initial steps are designed to take around 10 minutes.

However, sometimes the fault cannot be fixed in this time frame. In this case, wherever possible, the train will be taken out of use and sent to a depot. This does take additional time, as the crew will need to make sure that everyone's managed to leave the train.

If this can't be done either, specialist engineers will be sent to site, known as "fitters". There are fitters based in key locations around the network, 24 hours a day, and they are able to attend anywhere on routes. Once they are on site, staff will then monitor progress updates and ensure that the railway can be reopened as promptly as possible.

Until the defective train can be moved, staff will try to find a way to get other trains around the issue. This depends how many lines are available, and whether the signalling equipment is set up to allow trains to be routed around the problem. This is more often the case on major routes, but not always. Staff will work with Network Rail's controllers to decide how many more trains can be sent through the area, and if this isn't possible, alternative solutions are available to help you continue your journey.

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.