Issue with the Overhead Wires between Peterborough and Stevenage - 16/08/26

[55002]

Everything appears to have stopped just north of Alexandra Palace. Has something else happened?

No platforms at Kings Cross

 

[Intercity_225]

No platforms at Kings Cross

Ah okay, thanks

 

[55002]

Looks like issue in Grantham area now, 1A28 came to a halt and 1S23 has been slow through the area..

edit kids near the track..all ok now

 

[GordonT]

Looks like issue in Grantham area now, 1A28 came to a halt and 1S23 has been slow through the area..

Become something of a "Whack-a-Mole" day for controllers on the ECML.

 

[RogueTrains]

How do we foresee this impacting early trains out of KGX? I’m heading to Leeds on the 0540 and wondered the likelihood of that!

 

[43094]

Too soon to tell, until the set balancing and crew (un)availability tomorrow is confirmed!

 

[RogueTrains]

Ah! Do we know roughly when this info comes in? Keen to know when I’ll be able to plan for this.. sorry for all the Qs!

 

[IanMac]

Looks like the 16:23 Thameslink from Cambridge to Brighton (39 mins late leaving) is diverting into KX and terminating. That won't help the platforming!

 

[quantinghome]

We're waiting at KX. Platforms full of LNER trains. Not much moving and even less information. LNER trains gradually reappearing on the departures board now.

 

[johntea]

Thankfully I’m only off to Doncaster from Wakefield so just had to wait around for the local Northern service to turn up, not much luck for anyone there waiting for London sadly…

There was an optimistic announcement around 6pm they were sending a train from the depot to Leeds to run a London service but that doesn’t seem to have resulted in anything!

 

[Train Maniac]

Theyve turned back one of the Bradford Forster Square trains (225 set) at Leeds. Left at 6:55pm

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C02077/2026-08-16/detailed#allox_id=1

This one.

Fingers crossed nothing else goes wrong Haha!

 

[D1537]

There was an optimistic announcement around 6pm they were sending a train from the depot to Leeds to run a London service but that doesn’t seem to have resulted in anything!

They've dug out 801221 from NH to work 1A32 which has left 23 late. This should have worked 1A18 this morning but was of course cancelled.

 

[43094]

There isn't a guaranteed time for it to become available.

Generally the aim is for the comms to be available by 2200 at the latest; but with disruption of the level of today, that isn't always possible.

 

[Horizon22]

Ah! Do we know roughly when this info comes in? Keen to know when I’ll be able to plan for this.. sorry for all the Qs!

Overnight probably when the controllers review the stock.

 

[Stampy]

The Southern ECML was up the Swanee yesterday too... (15 August)

Planned to catch the 1054 Thameslink from PBO which was cancelled due to a Thameslink Train playing up at Farringdon...

We all got shoved on the next few LNER trains which were ALSO full due to (i believe) an item on the overhead wire between Doncaster and Retford/Newark?

Finally got into London at just after 1245.


Also managed to catch the 1901 Thameslink train back to Peterborough from London Bridge, but we got caught up in a VERY long line of trains crawling between Finsbury Park and New Barnet due to an issue with the track at Oakleigh Park... Ran on the Fasts all the way to Hitchin, where 5 Intercity's overtook us!!

The 2001 service back from London Bridge was running nearly 40 minutes late at one point!!

 

[45Fox]

Saint Pancras would be chaos with LNER rolling in there, with EMR's regular fleet.

It would be under normal circumstances.

However, I wonder if there would be room with the currently reduced EMR Inter City services running?

(I'm not seriously suggesting that long term plans are changed now though!)

 

[WillC]

Well that was a bit of an epic. Turned up at Leeds and nothing happening southbound on LNER. Chatted to staff who advised best going via Manchester as Sheffield and EMR was so busy folk were being turned away. Duly boarded a slow Calder valley train to Victoria, walked at speed over to Picadilly, grabbed a butty and just made the 17:55 Avanti. Sat on the floor muching away, just glad to be on any train going to London and thinking about the likelihood of getting a seat. Guard walks past and said there were loads, which there were. Further delays near Milton Keynes due to slow line blockage and arrived Euston just before 21:00. Could have been worse, staff did well and the info about ticket validity on other TOCs seemed to have worked. And I should get my money back which is a bonus.

 

[D365]

They've dug out 801221 from NH to work 1A32 which has left 23 late. This should have worked 1A18 this morning but was of course cancelled.

Presume you mean Neville Hill (NL) rather than Newton Heath?

 

[D1537]

Presume you mean Neville Hill (NL) rather than Newton Heath?

LOL, yes of course. Sourcing an 801 from a non-electrified depot would be a trick.

 

[DraytonRes]

Poor station staff today!

A particular train manager on one of the few remaining long-distance trains managed to wind up all the passengers both on and off the train, as well as all the platform staff by taking out his stress on anyone who dared ask him if his train was moving.

He was absolutely incredulous that people would try and board and then stand on a train that people thought might be their only possible journey for the rest of the day.

I get it's for safety, but the platform staff who were left to deal with passengers who'd been yelled at I felt new levels of sympathy for.

 

[andykn]

Well that was a bit of an epic. Turned up at Leeds and nothing happening southbound on LNER. Chatted to staff who advised best going via Manchester as Sheffield and EMR was so busy folk were being turned away. Duly boarded a slow Calder valley train to Victoria, walked at speed over to Picadilly, grabbed a butty and just made the 17:55 Avanti. Sat on the floor muching away, just glad to be on any train going to London and thinking about the likelihood of getting a seat. Guard walks past and said there were loads, which there were. Further delays near Milton Keynes due to slow line blockage and arrived Euston just before 21:00. Could have been worse, staff did well and the info about ticket validity on other TOCs seemed to have worked. And I should get my money back which is a bonus.

The ticket validity info was a bit confusing because although the National Rail website said Avanti and EMR had ticket acceptance in place the LNER website had these two struck out later on, just as we were waiting on the 14.10 from Nottingham to St Pancras. As that was full and standing no ticket checks were done anyway

 

[Centralsimon]

It wasn't the railway at its very best

The ticket validity info was a bit confusing because although the National Rail website said Avanti and EMR had ticket acceptance in place the LNER website had these two struck out later on, just as we were waiting on the 14.10 from Nottingham to St Pancras. As that was full and standing no ticket checks were done anyway

Ticket acceptance is a legally protected right and the games played to claim otherwise is silly and places staff in conflict positions and is unnecessary

Be honest, say while your ticket is valid, services from St Pancras and Euston are leaving full and standing and you are advised to ........

But there was a lack of advice yesterday, the X account couldn't cope , real genuine advice just didnt exist on the ground.

 

[GordonT]

But there was a lack of advice yesterday, the X account couldn't cope , real genuine advice just didnt exist on the ground.

There often appears to be a Catch-22 where the advice from X is to consult station staff/conductor or train manager to which the passenger responds that they can't help either.

 

[DarloRich]

For the first time in ages I was caught up in ECML disruption. I was travelling from Leeds > Kings Cross > MKC. Passengers were being sent from Leeds to Sheffield for EMT to London or XC to Birmingham and I just couldn't face that knowing EMR would be rammed and XC would be awful.

I hung around Leeds for a bit and was just contemplating chancing the Morecambe train and changing at Lancaster for an avanti south when a Harrogate bound LNER pulled in and terminated so it could run south. It was formed of 2 trains and I found a seat no problem. Turns out the inbound service ( 1D11 Kings Cross > Harrogate was 154 minutes late!). I ended up on the 1510 (1A25) but times were frankly a bit meaningless! We left c.25 late.

Running south I expected it to be swamped at Westgate and Doncaster but hardly anyone got on. The journey south was easy until Peterborough when we ran slowly after that until around Potter Bar when we joined the queue of trains waiting to access a congested Kings Cross. Tracksy showed how bad it was and we trundled very slowly, stopping in the fasts line platforms of most station before Kings Cross. We ended up arriving c.80 minutes late.

There were then problems at Euston!

Things were not helped by there being no XC trains at Leeds due to the closure of the line to York & limited TPE services towards Manchester due to TPE upgrade works which meant options were limited.

Long day for all involved!

 

[DelW]

The ticket validity info was a bit confusing because although the National Rail website said Avanti and EMR had ticket acceptance in place the LNER website had these two struck out later on, just as we were waiting on the 14.10 from Nottingham to St Pancras. As that was full and standing no ticket checks were done anyway

Travelling north out of Euston on a very full Avanti train at midday yesterday, the Avanti TM was acknowledging the presence of diverted passengers on board, and during the journey, was offering advice on the best places to change for connections towards the north east. He also apologised to all passengers for the overcrowding, explaining why it was so full. So at least once on board, passengers would have had the ticket acceptance confirmed. In the event there wasn't a check, possibly because there were passengers standing in the aisle throughout the journey.

 

[yorkie]

Major disruption continuing today (see quote below).

Does anyone know the extent of acceptance for people holding tickets for today?

The website doesn't explicitly say, other than if your train is shown as cancelled you can take n earlier one:

Travel Alerts for your Train Journey | LNER

Stay updated with the latest LNER train information and sign up for travel alerts here.

www.lner.co.uk

Last Updated: Monday 17 August, 09.15

Following the significant disruption caused by damage to the overhead electric wires between Peterborough and Stevenage yesterday, Sunday 16 August, we’re expecting major disruption to continue across the LNER network into today, Monday 17 August. A part of the line was blocked overnight for Network Rail to carry out engineering works which resulted in the last services to London Kings Cross terminating at Peterborough. The disruption has affected the availability and positioning of our trains and crews for today’s services.

We’re working to minimise the impact and get services running as close to normal as possible, but please check your journey using the journey planner below before you travel.

Is your LNER service cancelled?

You don’t need to rebook, amend or change your original ticket. You can travel on any LNER services departing to your destination today.

We advise that you use the LNER app or website to reserve a new seat on the LNER service you choose to travel on, or speak to the team in one of our Travel Centres.

Deferred travel arrangements

Your LNER tickets dated Sunday 16 August can be used on any LNER service up to and including Tuesday 18 August.

We recommend that you make a new seat reservation on the service you intend to travel on.

Refunds and Compensation

If you booked a hotel or taxi as a result of yesterday’s disruption, you can claim the cost back by emailing your receipts to customers@lner.co.uk. Our Customer Solutions team will look into these on a case-by-case basis.

If you were delayed getting into your booked destination by 30+ minutes, you may be entitled to compensation under our Delay Repay scheme.

If you booked directly with LNER and opted into One Click Delay Repay, you’ll receive an email confirmation of this within 48 hours.

If you haven’t received an email, or if you haven’t opted in for One Click Delay Repay, or if you booked your tickets elsewhere, please fill in a claim form.

If you chose not to travel, you are entitled to a full refund:

Tickets bought via the LNER website or app can be refunded through your account.

Tickets purchased elsewhere should be refunded via the original retailer.


We’re truly sorry for the inconvenience to your journey.

My booked train is not the booked train type and is short formed. It's not (yet) cancelled. However given the situation, I would rather get n earlier one, but it's unclear if I am allowed to

I understand the full extent of acceptance isn't always published, so if anyone has any additional knowledge, that would be useful.

 

[LowLevel]

Major disruption continuing today (see quote below).

Does anyone know the extent of acceptance for people holding tickets for today?

The website doesn't explicitly say, other than if your train is shown as cancelled you can take n earlier one:

Travel Alerts for your Train Journey | LNER

Stay updated with the latest LNER train information and sign up for travel alerts here.

www.lner.co.uk

My booked train is not the booked train type and is short formed. It's not (yet) cancelled. However given the situation, I would rather get n earlier one, but it's unclear if I am allowed to

I understand the full extent of acceptance isn't always published, so if anyone has any additional knowledge, that would be useful.

They've not sent out any internal messages about generic lifting of ticket restrictions, bar one about not encouraging customers from cancelling trains to go for 5 car services.

 

[WillC]

The ticket validity info was a bit confusing because although the National Rail website said Avanti and EMR had ticket acceptance in place the LNER website had these two struck out later on, just as we were waiting on the 14.10 from Nottingham to St Pancras. As that was full and standing no ticket checks were done anyway

Yes I noticed that and assumed just out of date. Avanti guard was aware and fine with it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Aug 2026 ==

And… oh dear, still a problem today it seems. Will I give best going back to Leeds via Manchester?!

 

[D1537]

And… oh dear, still a problem today it seems. Will I give best going back to Leeds via Manchester?!

I don't think so. There are a couple of cancellations of the KGX-LDS axis for the rest of the day (mostly it appears due to stock out of place this morning) but everything else seems to be running OK.

 

[WillC]

I don't think so. There are a couple of cancellations of the KGX-LDS axis for the rest of the day (mostly it appears due to stock out of place this morning) but everything else seems to be running OK.

Good to know, thank you. Not due back until early evening so hopefully chance for them to get trains in place.