Misery for Hitchin commuters: Major disruption on trains through to London - all lines currently blocked with delays of up to two hours

There is major disruption on trains through Hitchin to London today, Tuesday (July 26).

All lines are currently blocked with delays of up to two hours after damage to the overhead electric wires between Peterborough/Cambridge via Hitchin railway station through to London.

Train operator Govia told Hitchin Nub News: "All lines are currently blocked. As a result of this, trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 120 minutes or revised.

"Major disruption is expected until the end of the day."

 Hitchin councillor and rail user Sam Collins was not impressed.

He told Hitchin Nub News this morning: "Hitchin's commuters have suffered so much in recent years, and there has been little or no action from the Government or from the County Council to address the ongoing issues.

"People are forced to pay for extremely expensive tickets and a service that is just inadequate, unreliable and has a timetable that is not fit for purpose. With the weather induced issues recently, and industrial action the rail service here has just let down local people so badly."

See Hitchin Nub News later this week for more on this topic from Mr Collins.

In the meantime here are alternative ways for Hitchin commuters to complete their journeys.

Grand Central

To help you with your journey, tickets will be accepted on the following:

Avanti West Coast via any reasonable route

CrossCountry via any reasonable route

LNER via any reasonable route

London Northwestern Railway via any reasonable route

Northern via any reasonable route

TransPennine Express via any reasonable route 

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Great Northern & Thameslink

You are strongly advised to delay travel until later today.

Services are currently suspended between Stevenage and Peterborough, and Stevenage and Cambridge.

If you must travel now, your journey will take considerably longer and you will need to use an alternative route.

Rail replacement buses are operating between Hitchin, St Neots and Peterborough. Buses have also been requested for the route between Stevenage and Cambridge. Please be aware that these buses are extremely limited, so you may not be able to use them to travel if they are at capacity.

Your ticket will be accepted, at no extra cost, on the following:

Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern will all be accepting each other's tickets

Greater Anglia services between Cambridge and London.

London Underground services via any reasonable route.

CrossCountry services between Peterborough, Ely and Cambridge.

To assist with your journey, alternative route maps can be found here for Great Northern and here for Thameslink.

A live disruption map can be viewed here.