Third day of London rail chaos as engineers continue to tackle damage to overhead wires with ongoing delays to trains to and from Paddington, King’s Cross and Moorgate
- Travel chaos continues into a third day due to damage to overhead railway wires
- Services to and from London Kings Cross, Paddington and Moorgate disrupted
- Affected passengers warned to check travel updates before they travel
- The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage
Travel chaos continues into a third day as rail services to and from London remain impacted by damage to overhead wires, affecting thousands of commuters.
Issues at Stevenage and Hayes and Harlington are causing problems for services through London Kings Cross, Paddington and Moorgate, some of the capital’s busiest railway stations.
The widespread disruption has been ongoing since Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral, when tens of thousands of mourners grappled with cancellations and delays as they tried to journey into the capital to pay their respects.
Affected passengers are being warned that services through Stevenage will remain disrupted – including with 50 minute delays and cancellations – for the rest of Wednesday.
Meanwhile, damage to overhead wires at Hayes and Harlington meant fewer services were able to run from Paddington station to destinations in the west on Tuesday, including destinations in Wales, and south-west England, as well as Heathrow Airport.
Damaged overhead wires near Hayes and Harlington (pictured) has caused ongoing severe disruption
Furious passengers took to social media this morning after their services were hit by delays
Train information boards at Kings Cross station last night (September 20) showed no services were leaving the terminus
The station closed at 10pm to allow engineers to complete repairs, cancelling all GWR and Heathrow Express services in and out of London Paddington until 6am on Wednesday.
Those travelling towards points north and south of the capital, including destinations in the far north and Scotland as well as central and southern England, have been coping with cancellations and severe delays due to the damage at Stevenage.
National Rail said disruptions were expected to continue this morning.
People have taken to social media to vent their frustrations over the ongoing disruption.
One person said: ‘Nothing says welcome back to the UK like no trains from Heathrow to Paddington, no decent alternative and no helpful guidance from staff. A slow and jam packed Piccadilly line has been horrendous and I’ve missed my connecting train, so nice to be home…’
Another person who was on a delayed train said: ‘I feel your pain. I caught the 6:34 out of Reading, which was supposed to get me to Paddington just after 7. Instead, it arrived at 7:45. Those overhead lines still seem a mess.’
National Rail said on Wednesday morning that some lines are blocked again between London Paddington and Hayes and Harlington ‘due to earlier damage of overhead wires’. Services towards Reading will be disrupted until around midday
Rail operator Thameslink said on Wednesday morning a revised service was in place today due to overhead line damage at Stevenage. Repair works are not expected to be complete until tomorrow morning
Heathrow Express services are operating at a ‘reduced frequency’ on Wednesday morning due to damage to overhead electric wires
Travel chaos at Finsbury Park on Tuesday evening as commuters grapple with widespread disruption
The problem in the area arose at around 6.30am on Monday after a number of trains became entangled, according to the PA news agency.
All four lines serving Paddington reopened on Tuesday morning after a 27-hour suspension, but the wires were only working above two of them.
The damage at Hayes and Harlington meant a day of mayhem for mourners who were travelling to London for the Queen’s state funeral.
The problem caused thousands of mourners to miss the funeral service or to resort to watching it on phones in carriages and on platforms.
Roads in and around the capital were closed for Her Majesty’s funeral and subsequent procession to Windsor Castle, while rail services saw greater than normal passenger numbers as millions descended on the capital to watch.
Source: Read Full Article