Rail chaos after London Euston line closes
Rail passengers faced major disruption today after all lines in and out of London Euston were closed this morning.
No services were running in or out of the station until midday due to emergency repairs on downed overhead wires, causing cancellations and delays throughout the country.
All lines are now back open, but National Rail warned timetables are likely to be revised and delays of up to 30 minutes are expected due to trains and crews being stranded in the wrong location.
Trains operated by Virgin and London Midland - including to and from Birmingham and Wolverhampton - were affected and disruption is expected across their network for the rest of the day.
The knock-on effect of the wire damage in Wembley saw delays of up to 60 minutes for trains between Birmingham and Wolverhampton this morning.
National Rail had been advising passengers not to travel this morning, but has now issued the following advice online: "All lines have reopened to and from London Euston following over 500 metres of damage to the overhead wires between London Euston and Watford Junction.
"Trains are now able to run to and from London Euston. Trains may be delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised due to trains and train crew being out of location."
London Midland customers can use their ticket on Chiltern Railways between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone and Great Western Railway on 'reasonable routes' into London Paddington.
Virgin customers can use Chiltern Railways, TransPennine Express, Northern, London Midland, Virgin Trains East Coast and London Underground via 'any reasonable route'.
Alternatively anyone who chose not to travel can apply for a full refund.
More than 500 metres of wires near Wembley, north London, needed replacing after they were damaged at around 3.30pm on Friday. The cause of the damage is not yet known.
Steve Helfet, Head of West Coast Services at London Midland, said: "Thank you to our customers for their patience and understanding - and particularly for listening to the advice 'not to travel' during the emergency engineering work this morning.
"This is not a message we give lightly and we're very grateful that our customers worked with us.
"We are sorry for all disruption caused to people's travel following Friday's incident."
Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest travel information.
