London commuter chaos as three signal failures cause widespread train delays

The emergency services are currently dealing with an incident at Tooting which is causing delays to trains running through this station.

The fire brigade have been called and trains have been stopped to allow them to deal with the incident.

National Rail warns journeys could be delayed by up to 20 minutes or could be revised.

We’re heading outside of London now for this update, as the M65 motorway has been closed in both directions since about 4am.

The closure between junction 8 for Hapton and junction 10 for Burnley is in place following a ‘serious’ crash, and police warn the motorway will be closed for ‘some time’.

Here are the official diversion routes:

Eastbound – hollow circle diversion symbols

• Leave M65 at J8
• At M65 J8 roundabout take the third exit onto the A56 southbound
• Leave the A56 at the A56/A679 junction
• At the A56/A679 eastern roundabout take the 1st exit onto the A679 eastbound Accrington Road
• At the A679/Bentley Wood Way Roundabout take the second exit onto the A679 Accrington Road
• At the A679/A671 roundabout take the first exit onto the A671 northbound Cavalry Way
• At the A671 M65 J10 roundabout take the second exit and re-join the M65

Westbound – solid diamond diversion symbols

• Exit M65 J10
• At J10/A671 junction turn left onto the A671 southbound Cavalry Way
• At A671/A679 roundabout take third exit onto A679 Accrington Way
• At A679/Bentley Wood Way roundabout take second exit onto the A679 Accrington Way
• At A679/A56 junction continue straight through first roundabout
• At second roundabout take third exit to join A56 north
• At A56/M65 J8 take first exit and re-join M65

Earlier delays between Kennington and Morden due to a faulty train at Tooting Broadway have now been upgraded to severe.

Meanwhile there are now minor delays on the Metropolitan line between Moor Park and Chesham caused by train cancellations.

The part suspension of the District line after a points failure at High Street Kensington is still ongoing.

Two of the earlier signal faults reported across London have been repaired and lines have reopened.

The line between Bowes Park and Alexandra Palace has reopened, but commuters can still expect delays of up to 20 minutes while service recovers.

Elsewhere, lines have also reopened in Lewisham and the disruption caused there seems to have ended.

The anti-clockwise carriageway between junction 13 for Staines-upon-Thames and junction 12 for the M3 currently has two lanes out of five closed.

National Highways are on scene trying to fix the ‘infrastructure defect’ but there aren’t any details about what the problem actually is yet.

There’s about five miles of congestion backing up, with drivers facing 40 minute delays.

The District line is now part suspended between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road due to the ongoing points failure.

TfL says London Underground tickets will be accepted on South Western Railway and local buses.

Elsewhere on the Tube, the delays on the Piccadilly line have cleared up, but there are now minor delays on the Northern line between Kennington and Morden due to a faulty train at Tooting Broadway.

Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services between London Euston and Watford Junction are now being impacted by the ongoing signal fault near Shepherd’s Bush.

National Rail now says the disruption could last until 9.30am, where it previously estimated the issue would be resolved by 8am.

A fault with the signalling system between Bowes Park and Alexandra Palace has blocked some lines between the two stations, affecting Great Northern services.

Trains could be delayed or revised and the disruption is expected to last until 8am.

High Street Kensington is causing problems on the District line again thanks to a points failure.

There are severe delays between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road due to an earlier points failure at High Street Kensington.

There are minor delays between High Street Kensington and Wimbledon due to an earlier late finish to engineering work at East Putney.

The rest of the line is running a good service. London Underground tickets will be accepted on South Western Railway and local buses.

Elsewhere, the Piccadilly line has minor delays between Acton Town and Uxbridge due to train cancellations.

The rest of the London Underground and Overground network has good service at the moment.

Shepherd’s Bush

A National Rail spokesperson said: ‘A signalling fault is blocking the route used by Southern services between Shepherds Bush and Wembley Central.

‘Some trains towards Watford Junction will terminate at Shepherds Bush, and some trains from Watford Junction will instead start from Shepherds Bush.

‘As Southern are unable to serve Wembley Central, Harrow & Wealdstone or Watford Junction at present, you’ll need to use an alternative route for these stations. Please leave at least 30 minutes of extra time to do this.’

Your Southern ticket will be accepted at no extra cost on:

• London Underground services on any reasonable route across London
• London Buses serving stations between Central or West London and Watford Junction
• London Northwestern Railway services between London Euston, Harrow & Wealdstone and Watford Junction
• London Overground services between:
  • London Euston, Willesden Junction, Wembley Central, Harrow & Wealdstone and Watford Junction
  • Shepherds Bush and Willesden Junction

Lewisham

National Rail say: ‘A fault with the signalling system has been reported in the Lewisham area. As a result, one of the routes from Lewisham towards London Bridge is unavailable.

‘Staff are en route to investigate.

‘Trains towards central London from Sidcup, Hayes, and all-stations services from Sevenoaks, are unable to call at Lewisham.’

Your tickets can be used at no extra cost on:

• London Underground services between London terminals
• London Buses on reasonable routes between Lewisham, New Cross, Ladywell and Hither Green
• If you’re using Oyster/Contactless PAYG and you incur additional costs, you should contact the customer services team