Commuter chaos after 'substantial damage' to railway near Euston
20 February 2020, 09:22
Commuters are facing a miserable morning after a points failure near London Euston station delayed thousands travelling in and out of the capital.
London Northwestern Railway said the issue was caused by "substantial damage" to the railway.
London Northwestern Railway said around 7am on Thursday that all long-distance and local services to and from Euston will be significantly reduced.
There were delays and cancellations to Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway trains during the Thursday morning peak.
Points are mechanical systems that enable trains to switch from one track to another.
A Network Rail spokesman said its engineers are on site and would fix the problem "as soon as possible".
We are working with @AvantiWestCoast @LNRailway @LDNOverground to minimise disruption caused by the earlier points failure as much as possible. Please continue to check before you travel for the latest info. https://t.co/TAc1HSZY4M
— London Euston (@NetworkRailEUS) February 20, 2020
Disruption is expected until 10am.
London Euston is the UK's sixth busiest railway station.
It is used by an average of 126,000 passengers each day, according to Office of Rail and Road data.
Avanti West Coast services were already affected by speed restrictions in Cumbria and north Lancashire due to the wet weather increasing the risk of landslips and flooding.
Trains on a section of the West Coast Main Line between Lancaster and Penrith were restricted to running at 50mph instead of the normal 125mph between 5pm on Wednesday and 10am on Thursday.
