St Albans and Harpenden Thameslink commuters endure train chaos

Commuters on the Thameslink line have endured train chaos this morning (Wednesday) following issues with overhead wires at Luton.

Trains were either cancelled or severely delayed going in and out of St Albans, affecting many travelling into London.

There is a limited service of, at most, three trains per hour from Bedford to London St Pancra.

No cross-London trains expected beyond St Pancras as the delays have had a ‘ripple effect’ across other services.

There is also expected to be a limited Thameslink service only from Wimbledon and Sutton into London Blackfriars, while Sevenoaks services will run to Blackfriars and Victoria only.

Trains from Brighton area also expected to be disrupted. Passengers are urged to use alternative routes wherever possible, including the Great Northern route from stations such as St Neots, Hitchin and Hatfield into London King’s Cross.

A piece of cable came into contact with the overhead wires at approximately 2:45pm yesterday (Tuesday). This caused a power failure and loss of signalling, affecting train services.

OLE (overhead line equipment) is what powers electric trains but in this case the signalling - the traffic lights of the railway - has been affected too.

The wires that power trains have ‘tripped’ but are still intact and have not been ‘ripped down’.

National Rail, which are responsible for the repairs, are still trying to fix the problem and have apologised for the delays.

A Thameslink spokesperson said: “We’d like to apologise for the continued severe disruption so many of our passengers are experiencing. We are doing all we can to keep people updated through our web, app and Twitter feed and have extra staff out on the ground.”

Thameslink car park season tickets will be valid at Great Northern stations and other and other Thameslink stations.

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