Overview
- Network Rail said the communications failure at London Waterloo on Thursday morning cut the link between drivers and signallers and caused widespread delays and cancellations.
- The fault was later fixed, yet operators warn of major disruption and delays of up to about 90 minutes for the rest of the day as services recover.
- Seven operators report impacts, including South Western Railway, Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, Great Western Railway, London Overground and CrossCountry, while Southeastern says its trains are running as normal.
- Passengers can use tickets on alternative rail routes and on specified Underground and bus services, and those heading to Gatwick are urged to leave extra time.
- The rail radio system lets signallers clear trains to move, and when it fails services are held or run under manual instruction, which slashes capacity and forces timetable and crew reshuffles that take hours to unwind.