Rail firm issues ‘do not travel’ alert after ‘multiple incidents’ across south-east England | Rail industry
A “do not travel” warning has been issued by Britain’s largest rail franchise after a train derailment and signaling problems affected services in south-east England.
Train operators Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express, which are part of the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise in south-east England, appealed to passengers not to travel on Wednesday morning “if possible” due to “a large number of incidents”.
The problems include a train derailment at a depot in Selhurst, south-east London, and a signal failure between London Blackfriars and Norwood Junction.
Southern told passengers: “If you are traveling on our network today, your journey may be delayed and you may need to use an alternative route to reach your destination.
“If possible, please postpone your journey until later today. Please check your train before travelling, and allow an additional 60 minutes for your journey.”
The National Rail Inquiries said the signal failure meant fewer railway lines were available between Norwood Junction and London Blackfriars and meant trains running on existing lines had to travel at slower speeds than normal.
Services are suspended between: London Bridge and East Grinstead; Orpington and Luton; Brighton and Cambridge; and Bedford and Three Bridges.
Trains usually run between Welwyn Garden City and Sevenoaks and only run between London Blackfriars and Sevenoaks.
Services between Rainham and Luton only operate between Rainham and Dartford.
Trains normally running between Horsham and Peterborough or Brighton and Bedford may pass via Selhurst instead of Norwood Junction.
GTR, which includes operator Great Northern, is the UK’s largest rail franchise in terms of passengers carried.
According to the company, around 18% of train journeys in the UK are made on GTR services.
Great Britain’s rail operators are in the process of being nationalized by the government, most recently with West Midlands Trains last weekend. GTR is expected to be the next operator to be nationalized in May.
