Thameslink line failure causes rush hour chaos for train commuters

‘Trains have been backed up until the railway was fixed and to bring all services back instantly would cause huge congestion,’ said Network Rail

Happier times: a Thameslink train at Blackfriars (Thameslink)

Tens of thousands of Thameslink commuters endured another dreadful rush hour, after the central spine of the cross-London line was closed to all passenger trains.

Normally the line between London St Pancras and Blackfriars should handle around 40 services per hour – with trains converging from Kent, Sussex, Surrey and south London, and running through to Bedford, Peterborough and Cambridge.

In the early hours of the morning a train driver passing through City Thameslink station reported sparks after a ceramic insulator broke.

Signalling equipment and overhead wires were also damaged in the incident.

City Thameslink is the station where Thameslink trains switch from “third-rail” power, used for the southern part of the network, and more conventional overhead wires.

Network Rail reported shortly after 8am that trains were moving, but it came too late to rescue the journeys for tens of thousands of commuters.

The organisation said: “Although the infrastructure is now fixed, trains are being reintroduced gradually. We have to do this because trains have been backed up until the railway was fixed and to bring all services back instantly would cause huge congestion.”

All 10 trains from Cambridge to Brighton scheduled between 4.30am and 10am were cancelled, with subsequent services heavily delayed.

At 10am, after the rush hour had been wiped out, the train operator told users: “Due to multiple incidents at City Thameslink and London Blackfriars yesterday evening, the power was switched off to the railway lines between London St Pancras International and London Blackfriars.

“This suspended overnight and early morning services today.

“Thameslink trains are now resuming through Central London, but services will remain severely disrupted for some time.”

One passenger, Max Burrell, tweeted: “The current state of the Thameslink line is nothing short of a disgrace.

“Third day this week I’ve walked into the station and near to everything was cancelled. That’s unreliable to me.”

Cancellations will continue into the afternoon and may affect the evening rush hour.

The train operator said: “Replacement buses have been deployed to Redhill, Three Bridges, Horsham and Haywards Heath to cover train service gaps at the smaller stations.”

Thameslink also connects Luton and Gatwick airports with central London and with each other.

Travellers between London and Gatwick airport who use the alternative rail connection, from Victoria, face further disruption caused by what the train operator called “a number of incidents between London Victoria and East Croydon”.

These include flooding in the Clapham Junction area, a broken-down train at Norbury and a platform closure at Victoria after a passenger was taken ill.

Almost all trains at Gatwick airport are either cancelled or delayed.

Thameslink was blamed for the botched introduction of radical new timetables in May 2018, which brought the service almost to a standstill.