ONE train operating company is urging its customers to stay at home today, as sub-zero temperatures continue. Clear skies in many places meant another very cold night, and many TOCs are reporting problems with widespread signalling problems and train failures. In addition, forecasters expect snow to return by the weekend.

First Capital Connect is one TOC that has been particularly badly hit, with services on both the Thameslink and Great Northern routes being delayed by up to 90mins. FCC said the disruption was being caused by a combination of train faults and signalling problems, both of which are being blamed on the weather. FCC is ‘strongly advising’ against attempts to travel on its routes today.

CrossCountry trains between Bristol and Birmingham are being diverted via Chepstow with delays of 90mins, because of a rock fall inside Wickwar Tunnel in Gloucestershire at about 07.30 today. Network Rail has closed the line and engineers are at the scene. It is not yet clear if the collapse was related to the weather.

Other CrossCountry problems are affecting the York/Newcastle and Cambridge/Stansted Airport routes. In addition, no CrossCountry trains are running across the Scottish central belt, and passengers are being advised to use ScotRail instead.

East Coast trains are being delayed by up to an hour. Many Leeds services have been cancelled, and there are almost no EC trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow.


First Great Western is also affected by the closure of the line through Wickwar Tunnel, and telling its passengers to travel via Swindon. No trains are running between Westbury and Swindon, Avonmouth and Severn Beach or Oxford and Bicester Town.

Trains on several key Transpennine Express routes are being delayed by numerous signalling problems at Carlisle, Glazebrook, Selby, Northallerton and Ulleskelf, while a failed train is causing delays at Bolton. The Northallerton problem is also delaying Grand Central and East Coast services, and there are speed restrictions elsewhere on the East Coast Main Line.

ScotRail services have been suspended between Dalmuir and Springburn, Milngavie and High Street (Glasgow)/Bellgrove, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central via Carstairs and between Dyce and Elgin. Replacement buses are running where possible between Motherwell and Lanark, Bathgate and Edinburgh and Inverness and Aviemore. Other services are being delayed or reduced in frequency, particularly in the central belt. Sleeper services between Scotland and London will be ‘subject to change’ for the rest of this week.

London Midland is reporting delays of up to an hour between Rugby and London Euston, and also signalling problems between Birmingham and Liverpool. Virgin has reduced its London and Birmingham/Manchester services to twice an hour, and is also facing delays because of signalling problems near Liverpool, at Edge Hill.

National Express East Anglia has reduced its London–Norwich service to hourly, and trains on the Cambridge and Great Eastern routes are being delayed.

Northern Rail is also being affected by signalling problems, and has reduced the frequency of several Manchester area services.

Southern has cancelled many services between London and the South Coast, and South West Trains has no service between Brockenhurst and Lymington or between Ascot and Guildford. Trains between London and Weybridge via Hounslow are terminating at Staines, and SWT is warning that many trains will be shorter than usual, with fewer on-board services. 
 
Southeastern is having a better day than yesterday, but its trains are being delayed between London Bridge and Cannon Street, while problems are reported on the lines to Dartford and Faversham.

Both Arriva Trains Wales and Wrexham and Shropshire services are being delayed by signalling faults at Telford.

Meanwhile, ATOC has attributed delays on the National Rail Enquiries website yesterday to ‘intermittent technical problems’ rather than a lack of capacity. A spokesman said the site had been handling an average of 95,000 visitors an hour. “While this is a lot more than normal, it is well within the capacity that the site is designed to handle,” he added.

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