Lines have now reopened following a points failure at New Barnet. Whilst service recovers, trains running between Stevenage and London Kings Cross may still be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes.
Disruption is expected to continue until 10:00.
Great Northern / Thameslink Customer Advice
Trains can now run towards Stevenage from the direction of London, via Welwyn Garden City as advertised. Please allow extra time to complete your journey as there may be delays of up to 20 minutes when travelling this route.
Ticket acceptance
Your ticket will still be accepted on the following, at no extra cost:
- Greater Anglia between London and Cambridge, and Cambridge and Ely
- London Underground via any reasonable route
- TfL buses between central London and Potters Bar, and between underground stations north of London
Planning your journey:
You can check train departures from your station here:
You can view live maps of the network here:
You can also see alternative route guides here:
If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner here.
Can you tell me more about the incident?
A points failure had been reported, and was preventing trains from travelling from New Southgate to Potters Bar. This has been resolved although there may still be delays to services.
Points are moveable sections of track which can send trains onto different routes at junctions. These are part of the signalling system, generally managed by Network Rail.
Points can stop moving correctly for a number of reasons. For example, there may be an obstruction in the moving parts, or the electronic control systems may have developed a fault.
There are various backup systems which allow signallers to try to "set" the points, and in some cases, the points may be available for trains in one of the directions they serve, but not another.
Network Rail will send their specialist Signalling & Telecoms teams to site, and they will set up a safe method of working on the track. To allow staff to access the railway, sometimes we have to stop trains completely, which can lead to trains on other routes also being held at stations or signals.
As soon as it's safe to go on the line, the staff will diagnose the fault and find any quick solutions to resolve it.
Whilst this is being done, we will be monitoring progress closely. At times, replacement parts may be needed, or specialist advice from suppliers, which is why some points failures take longer to resolve than others.
Check before you travel:
You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.
âââââââCompensation:
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.