Major Stevenage and Hitchin train disruption all day

“Severe” damage to overhead wires on the Stevenage and Hitchin railway yesterday evening (August 9) meant all lines were blocked from around 7pm until 10am today (August 10).

Three out of four lines have since reopened as engineers continue work on restoring the service.

National Rail has warned however that major disruption is expected all day as trains running between London and Cambridge or Peterborough may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

ℹ️The overhead wires sustained severe damage yesterday evening between Stevenage and #Hitchin. Engineers have been working to repair the damage and 3 out of 4 lines have now been reopened.

— National Rail (@nationalrailenq) August 10, 2024

Great Northern and Thameslink have appealed for travellers to delay leaving until at least midday while a “very reduced service” is in place. 

The full details are available on the National Rail website and travellers can follow updates on X with the #Hitchin tag.

Grand Central has also said customers can use their ticket dated yesterday on today’s services at no extra cost.

The damaged overhead wires saw the power switched off for the safety reasons between Stevenage and Hitchin on Friday evening.

If you are currently on a train that is at a stand outside of a station please DO NOT alight the train.

It is not safe to be on the tracks at this time and we are working on an evacuation plan that will include other trains running on the line.

— Thameslink (@TLRailUK) August 9, 2024

Thameslink warned travellers stranded on trains between the two stations to wait until as back-up trains had arrived to evacuate them as it was “not safe” to descend onto the tracks.