Thameslink passengers face delays and cancellations from Bedford and Luton

Signal problems causing problems on commuter route into London
Thameslink passengers are warned to expect delays and cancellations on Friday morningThameslink passengers are warned to expect delays and cancellations on Friday morning
Thameslink passengers are warned to expect delays and cancellations on Friday morning

Thameslink passengers are being warned to expect delays and cancellations to and from Bedford and Luton this morning (Friday February 28).

Signalling problems in north London are causing disruption and mean the train operator cannot run a full service.

A spokesman for Thameslink said: "A fault with the signalling system between West Hampstead Thameslink and Kentish Town is causing disruption which is expected to last until 09:00.

Departure boards at Luton and Bedford showed early-morning cancellationsDeparture boards at Luton and Bedford showed early-morning cancellations
Departure boards at Luton and Bedford showed early-morning cancellations

"Services between St Albans and London St Pancras will be disrupted this morning as fewer trains are able to run between St. Pancras and Kentish Town. This will affect all services across the Thameslink network. Please check your journey planners before you travel."

West Hampstead is a major junction on the commuter route into London where fast trains cross on to the line towards Blackfriars away from the lines into the terminus at St Pancras International.

The spokesman added: "In this particular situation the fault has been confirmed as a track circuit failure. This means the signalling system is unable to automatically verify if the next section of track past the affected signal is clear.

"The rail network is designed so that if a signal stops working, trains will stop before they reach it. Whilst this issue is ongoing, train crew will stop at the affected signal and contact the signalling centre to confirm their location, which at this point the signaller will verbally authorise the driver to continue towards the next signal.

"This process adds time to every trains journey, which means services can experience short delays.".

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