London Midland have released a statement regarding the disruption caused to some services yesterday morning.
The train operator published an explanation on their website:
“We are really sorry if you were caught up in the disruption affecting trains on the Euston line on Wednesday morning and thank you for your patience.”
What happened?
‘Just before 0600hrs, we experienced a number of points failures at Watford Junction, and whilst these were initially fixed by 0630hrs, a separate fault developed at 0650hrs which led to all signals in the Watford area displaying red lights (a standard safety feature).
‘This meant that no Virgin, Southern or London Midland trains were able to pass through the station and as a result, services were suspended to/from Euston as per agreed joint contingency arrangements with Network Rail.
‘Although a few trains did move to help Network Rail identify the cause of the fault, services were suspended until 0840hrs whilst technicians undertook work to restore the problematic data links.
‘Once the line reopened, signallers were also given instructions not to move any of the points at Watford to reduce the risk of further problems.
What did London Midland do?
‘Once the severity of the problem was clear, extra management support was sent to key stations to help provide information. We also arranged for tickets to be accepted by East Midlands Trains and First Capital Connect on the St Pancras line, and by Chiltern Railways on the Marylebone line.
‘We also tried to arrange for coaches to run from Hemel Hempstead to Watford Junction, Milton Keynes to Aylesbury, and Northampton to Wellingborough.
‘However, due to most coach operators already being stretched by Royal Ascot and school bus operations, very few services eventually ran.
‘Once the line reopened, we tried to run as many trains as possible, but it took several hours to restore a full service, partly due to the backlog of trains and partly due to the number of traincrew displaced by the incident.
‘As a result, peak ticket restrictions will not apply on Wednesday evening from Euston, and tickets valid for travel on Wednesday can be used on Thursday instead.
‘Full refunds will be available from point of purchase for those who chose not to travel (this also applies to parking charges – please call Meteor on 01959 526060 for details).
How did they do?
‘These situations are always difficult, although we tried to pass on the information you needed as we received it.
‘Once again, we’re very sorry for the disruption, but if you would like to tell us how we did, or have any suggestions for the future, please email [email protected].
‘If you were delayed by more than 30 minutes, remember you can claim compensation under the Delay Repay scheme here.’
