Delays and cancellations hit trains to London airport (2024)

Noora Mykkanen

Drivers have been warned of a crash on the M25 in Hertfordshire this evening.

Motorists were asked to avoid the area after the smash which happened on the M25 junction J18 clockwise slip road.

Noora Mykkanen

Some lines are blocked between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport, meaning Gatwick Express service cannot run between the airport and London Victoria.

It comes after a faulty signalling system in East Croydon which has closed the fast lane and forced all trains to use the remaining line.

This means significant delays as trains ‘begin to queue to pass over the affected section,’ National Rail warned.

Trains could be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised, with disruption expected until 11pm.

Here are the affected services.

• Gatwick Express services will not run
• Southern services between London Victoria and Reigate will not run
• Southern services between London Victoria and Littlehampton will not run
• Fewer trains than usual will run between Three Bridges and London / Bedford
• Fewer trains than usual will run between Redhill and Tonbridge
• Trains from London Victoria to Littlehampton, and Eastbourne / Ore will continue to run as scheduled

Noora Mykkanen

TfL has warned that part of the District line on the London Underground will be suspended for the rest of the day.

There is no service between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road due to a track fault.

Passengers should use Circle line to complete their journeys, the latest TfL status update says.

The rest of the line has good service.

Elsewhere on the TfL network, Central, Jubilee and Victoria line have minor delays.

Noora Mykkanen

British Airways has cancelled a a handful of flights from Heathrow Airport today.

Here are the flights that were axed today according to the airport departure board.

British Airways BA990 at 7.20am to Berlin

British Airways BA430 at 8.20am to Amsterdam

JetBlue B61621 at 8.25am to Boston

British Airways BA1308 at 10.30am to Aberdeen

British Airways BA474 at 11.10am to Barcelona

American Airlines AA105 at 3.15pm to New York City

British Airways BA580 at 5.40pm to Milan

Noora Mykkanen

If you need to drive on the M25 tonight, it is worth taking note of these two road closures on the motorway and at Dartford.

M25 – closure between J10 and J11 from 10pm until 5am

Dartford Tunnel – the A282 north west Tunnel from 10pm until 5.30am

Katie Boyden

There are a few other issues across the rail network this afternoon, though thankfully not as serious as the ongoing problems at Nunhead.

• A fault on a train between Slaithwaite and Huddersfield means some lines are blocked.
  As a result, trains running between Stalybridge and Huddersfield may be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised.
• The emergency services are dealing with an incident between Newcastle and Hexham. Whilst they do their work, all lines are closed.
  Trains running between Newcastle and Carlisle may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

And this is the latest update for service across the London Underground:

• There are still minor delays between Leytonstone and Hainault via Newbury Park on the Central line due to train cancellations.
• There’s still a part suspension of the District line between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road.
• There are now minor delays on the Metropolitan line between Moor Park and Chesham, also due to train cancellations.

Katie Boyden

Here’s what National Rail has to say about the cause of the incident:

‘A signalling problem occurred near Nunhead yesterday, blocking the line between Nunhead and Lewisham.

‘Network Rail response staff were unable to complete repairs overnight, and unfortunately because of the complicated nature of the problem, the line will remain blocked for the rest of the day.’

Trains between London Victoria and Gravesend via Bexleyheath will be suspended for the rest of the day.

Trains between London Victoria and Gillingham are unable to stop at Denmark Hill, but will call additionally at Herne Hill.

Sarah Hooper

Londoners travelling between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road should expect to see no service – due to a track fault at Edgware Road earlier.

Customers are encouraged to find alternative routes to their destinations. The rest of the line is functioning normally.

Sarah Hooper

Eastbound traffic on the A40 and A406 is slow moving through road restrictions, with drivers warned to prepare for delays.

Katie Boyden

There are two lanes closed on the M62 westbound between junctions 26 and 25 after a crash.

It’s predicted that traffic won’t return to normal until nearly 3pm.

Katie Boyden

Bad news for anyone wanting to use the District line as it’s still part suspended between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road.

There are also still minor delays on the Northern line, as there has been all morning.

There are now minor delays on the Central line between Leytonstone and Hainault via Newbury Park because of train cancellations.

Katie Boyden

Two lanes of the M42 southbound are closed between junctions 4 and 3A, south of Birmingham Airport, because of the vehicle fire.

National Highways are predicting that the congestion won’t clear until midday.

Katie Boyden

Bad news if you were hoping to cross from Kent into Essex this morning, as there are currently delays on the M25 anticlockwise between junction 1A and 31, encompassing the Dartford Crossing tunnels.

There’s a broken down vehicle which is slowing things down, and National Highways reckon conditions won’t return to normal until around 11am.

This is causing tailbacks and congestion as far as junction 2 for the Bean Interchange, and another collision on the same carriageway has led to a lane closure and queues to junction 3.

There are also two lanes closed on the A13 westbound close to the junction 30 of the M25, due to a broken down vehicle. That’s causing congestion on the clockwise carriageway of the M25 and across the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

Katie Boyden

The Tube network is looking a bit healthier now, as the issues on the Northern Line have improved to just minor delays.

There are still however minor delays on the Victoria line due to a train shortage.

And there is now a part suspension on the District line between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road thanks to a track fault. There’s good service on the rest of the line, though, as well as all other lines.

Katie Boyden

Heathrow Airport says it has seen a 90,000 drop in passenger numbers on routes included in a £10 per person government scheme.

The electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system came into effect last November and they’re required for Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan nationals.

The scheme is set to be extended for EU, European Economic Area and Swiss nationals early next year, and the rest of the world this autumn.

But the airport has described the system as ‘devastating for our hub competitiveness’.

A spokesperson said: ‘While Heathrow continues to attract new routes and record passenger numbers, the latest data following the introduction of the ETA shows that Heathrow has lost 90,000 transfer passengers on routes operating to and from the seven countries included in the scheme, since its introduction in 2023.

‘We urge government to review the inclusion of airside transit passengers.

‘Every little bit of extra competitiveness that government can deliver for aviation will help deliver vital growth for the whole of the UK economy.’

A Home Office spokesperson told Sky News: ‘We are introducing ETAs to enhance border security and modernise the experience for travellers.

‘The government is continuing to keep the requirement for transit passengers to obtain an ETA under review.’

Katie Boyden

So far the roads aren’t looking too bad – but these are the areas of concern at the moment:

• There’s been a crash on the M48 eastbound between junctions 2 and 1, at the bridge connecting Wales with Bristol. One lane is currently closed
• The A19 southbound is currently not moving due to congestion near the junction with the A1027, north of Middlesborough
• There’s bad congestion eastbound between junctions 7 and 9, and junctions 23 and 24 of the M62
• The M6 southbound between junctions 8 and 5 near Birmingham is heavily congested at the moment. There’s also congestion on the M6 northbound between junctions 4 and 6
• The M5 northbound at junction 5 is very busy at the moment
• The A27 around Chichester is also congested with the usual rush hour traffic
• The M4 eastbound near Newport is also pretty busy

Scottish roads are looking pretty healthy overall this morning, with just some expected rush hour congestion around Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Katie Boyden

The current situation between London Bridge and London Blackfriars is now not expected to clear up until 10am, National Rail says.

A signalling fault means trains are running slower than normal between the two above stations. Services running between them could be delayed by up to 20 minutes now, cancelled, or revised.

This is affecting several routes in and out of London, including those to Peterborough and Brighton.

Katie Boyden

The part suspension of the Metropolitan and Northern lines have been lifted, but now both lines have severe delays.

The Metropolitan line is delayed between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Uxbridge, while the Northern line has delays across the line due to engineering work at Camden Town finishing late.

The Victoria line still has minor delays, and the delays on the Piccadilly line have since cleared up.

There’s good service on all other lines.