Major disruption for train passengers at Bedford and Luton on Thursday morning

Rail passengers are facing massive disruption on trains from Bedford and Luton this morning (Thursday).

Thameslink says a signalling fault on the Midland Main Line at Harpenden is forcing major cancellations and delays on services into London.

A spokesman for the operator said: "For safety reasons, trains are having to run at slower speeds than normal. Disruption is expected until 12:00.

"Bedford to Gatwick services will be suspended until further notice. This will mean a reduced service between Bedford and London with trains half-hourly between Bedford and Brighton.

"You will be able to use your ticket on East Midlands Railway between Luton and London but please note these services are also affected by this incident.

"Please use our live journey planner for up to date details on which train services are running but alternative routes remain your best options..

"Network Rail have fault teams on site and have found damaged cable. They are currently working to replace it but there is still no estimate of when the repairs will be completed."

Those trains that are running are heavily delayed. The 06:19 service from Bedford arrived in London more than an hour late.