Rail: Delays To East Coast Line

20 February 2013, 10:35 | Updated: 20 February 2013, 13:28

Train operator First Capital Connect says disruption to the East Coast Mainline through Peterborough is likely to continue until Friday morning.

There have been delays and cancellations on trains between London King's Cross and Peterborough since yesterday (Tuesday) night.

They have been caused by problems with overhead cables in the St Neots area.

Around 100 passengers were forced to spend the night at King's Cross when the last train to Leeds was cancelled on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile a replacement bus service, put on by First Capital Connect, crashed into the central reservation on the A1 near Buckden at around 5am this morning.

Nobody was hurt in the crash, however the accident caused long delays on the northbound A1.

First Capital Connect is advising passengers to, wherever possible, attempt to travel in and out of London via Ely and Cambridge as this line is unaffected by the disruption.

Repair work on the damaged cables is expected to continue until Friday morning, meaning replacement bus services and disruption on parts of the East Coast Mainline is expected to continue until then.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "We apologise to passengers for the significant disruption this is causing to services. 

We're doing everything we can to repair the damage and get people moving as quickly as we possibly can. 

Train operators are providing buses where necessary and have lifted ticketing restrictions to enable passengers to travel via alternative routes."

First Capital Connect Statement 11am Wednesday:

Due to the collapse of approximately one kilometre of overhead electrical wire between Peterborough and Biggleswade, First Capital Connect are current unable to operate any services to Peterborough, Huntingdon, St Neots and Sandy. 

A bus service is operating to all stations between Peterborough and Biggleswade, with First Capital Connect rail services starting and terminating at Biggleswade with 2 trains per hour in each direction from/to London King's Cross. 

In additon buses are running between St Neots and Bedford also between Sandy and Bedford. 

Customers are advised to use alternative routes where possible. 

First Capital Connect tickets from the affected stations will be accepted on Peterborough to Cambridge services operated by East Midlands, Cross Country and Greater Anglia, as well as on on FCC services from Cambridge and on the Thameslink route. 

Network Rail are currently making repairs to allow diesel trains to run through the affected area. 

However it is expected that a full electric service will not be restored until Friday. 

First Capital Connect and Network Rail are sorry for any delay customers experience as a result of this disruption. 

Click here to visit the First Capital Connect website.

East Coast Statement 1:30pm Wednesday:

East Coast services are being disrupted this morning following damage to the overhead power lines at St Neots, between Peterborough and Stevenage, last night. 

Network Rail, who manage infrastructure on the railway, have teams working to repair damage which they say stretches over one kilometre of line. They expect that a limited service of diesel trains may resume from 12 noon today. 

East Coast services are currently starting from, and terminating at, Peterborough. 

Our advice to passengers travelling to or from stations south of Peterborough, including London King's Cross, is to defer journeys until tomorrow, when tickets dated for travel today will be accepted. 

In addition, East Coast tickets are being accepted via alternative routes to London, including on East Midlands Trains' services via Sheffield, and on Virgin West Coast services. 

All ticket restrictions on East Coast trains have been lifted for the remainder of today.

Click here to visit the East Coast trains website.