London travel news LIVE: Euston mainline train disruption for evening rush hour after fatality on tracks

Josh Salisbury and Lydia Chantler-Hicks
·7-min read

Mainline commuter services into London Euston were suspended this morning after a fatality on the tracks near Watford Junction.

Lines were blocked as emergency services responded to the scene, meaning mainline trains could not run, but they have since reopened.

In its latest update, National Rail said disruption is expected until at least 8pm and that as service recovers, trains may still be severely delayed by up to an hour or revised.

The incident has been affecting passengers travelling with Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway and Southern.

Follow latest updates below.

Key central London route shut due to gas leak

Wednesday 5 June 2024 16:51 , Jacob Phillips

Around 2,000 people have been evacuated due to a suspected gas leak in central London.

Buildings had to be emptied as a precaution on Southwark Street and the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has asked people to avoid the area.

There are no reports that anyone has been injured but the LFB has advised people to avoid the area.

Read more about the evacuation here.

Some 2,000 people had to be evacuated from Southwark Street (London Fire Brigade)
Some 2,000 people had to be evacuated from Southwark Street (London Fire Brigade)

Hour-long delays expected between London Euston and Watford Junction

Wednesday 5 June 2024 16:02 , Jacob Phillips

Lines have reopened between Watford Junction and London Euston but long waits are still in place.

Emergency services have safely completed their work between Watford Junction and Bushey, and all lines have reopened.

But National Rail has warned that while the service recovers, trains running between the stations may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 8pm.

Avanti hit by overheard wires fault

Wednesday 5 June 2024 15:19 , Josh Salisbury

Lines have now reopened following damage to the overhead electric wires between Preston and Lancaster which had also hit Avanti West Coast services.

Affected routes are: Avanti West Coast between London Euston and Glasgow Central / Edinburgh

Northern between Manchester Airport and Barrow-in-Furness / Windermere, between Lancaster and Heysham Port / Carlisle, and also between Leeds and Morecambe

TransPennine Express between Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central / Edinburgh, and also between Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central

Whilst service recovers, trains running between these stations may still be cancelled or delayed by up to 45 minutes.

Major disruption is expected to continue until 4pm.

Euston disruption now due to last until 3pm

Wednesday 5 June 2024 14:03 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

The ongoing disruption to trains between Watford Junction and Euston is now expected to last until 3pm, says National Rail - an hour later than previously thought.

Services between Woking and Wimbledon set to be disrupted all day

Wednesday 5 June 2024 13:41 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Urgent repairs are being carried out on the railway between Byfleet & New Haw and Walton-on-Thames, meaning some lines towards Surbiton are blocked.

National Rail says trains running through these stations “may be cancelled, delayed or running non-stop between Woking and Surbiton”.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Euston disruption expected to last until 2pm

Wednesday 5 June 2024 13:21 , Josh Salisbury

National Rail has now extended its disruption warning at Euston to last until 2pm.

This means passengers should expect train cancellations, delays of an hour or service changes.

Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern services are affected.

Wednesday 5 June 2024 12:11 , Josh Salisbury

Away from trains, there is slow traffic on a section of the M25 in north London due to a collision.

Traffic monitoring sites report slow traffic on M25 anticlockwise from J26 A121 Honey Lane (Waltham Abbey) to J25 A10 (Enfield).

Euston disruption to last until this afternoon

Wednesday 5 June 2024 10:29 , Josh Salisbury

The severe disruption at Euston will last until 1pm this afternoon, National Rail has said.

Emergency services have now completed their work between Watford Junction and Bushey after the track fatality and all lines have reopened.

Passengers are being warned that while service recovers, trains may still be severely delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised.

Edgware Road Tube station closed after fatal stabbing

Wednesday 5 June 2024 09:54 , Josh Salisbury

The Bakerloo’s Edgware Road Tube station is closed as police investigate a murder.

The victim, a man in his late 20s, was killed in a stabbing during a fight on Bell Street, at the junction with Edgware Road, on Tuesday night. At least one gunshot was also reported during the fight.

Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines are however not affected by the closure, as they serve a separate station around 150 metres away, also called Edgware Road.

Read more here.

Person killed in track incident

Wednesday 5 June 2024 09:20 , Josh Salisbury

A person has died on the tracks near Watford Junction Station, police have said.

British Transport Police said it received a report of a casualty on tracks near Watford Junction station, Hertfordshire at 6.04am on Wednesday.

Paramedics attended but the person was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lines reopen but delays still expected

Wednesday 5 June 2024 09:14 , Josh Salisbury

Lines at Euston have now reopened after emergency services “completed their work”.

However, passengers are being warned trains may still be severely delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

Delays between Blackfriars and St Pancras

Wednesday 5 June 2024 08:55 , Josh Salisbury

Away from Euston, delays between London Blackfriars and St Pancras International expected until 9.30am.

This is because of a train crew being delayed, which resulted in the northbound line being blocked.

Routes affected are: Between Brighton / East Grinstead / Three Bridges and Bedford, between Brighton and Cambridge, between Horsham and Peterborough, between Rainham / Orpington and Luton, between Sutton and St Albans, and also between Sevenoaks and Welwyn Garden City

Avanti tickets being accepted with other operators

Wednesday 5 June 2024 08:23 , Josh Salisbury

Avanti has said ticket acceptance is in place to allow passengers to switch to services run by other rivals which are still running. These are:

- Between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street with Chiltern. - Between London St. Pancras and Derby with East Midlands Railway. - Between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh with LNER.- Between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh with ScotRail.- Via any reasonable route with West Midlands Railway, CrossCountry and TransPennine Express.

Trains unable to leave Euston until 10am

Wednesday 5 June 2024 08:11 , Josh Salisbury

Major disruption affecting Euston Station is now expected to last until 10am.

Many into and from Euston Station have been cancelled, with Avanti and London Northwestern services affected.

This has hit key routes from Euston to and from Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

Severe delays on DLR and Piccadilly Line

Wednesday 5 June 2024 07:21 , Josh Salisbury

The DLR has been hit with severe delays between Bank and Lewisham while because of a faulty train at Deptford Bridge.

The Piccadilly Line also has severe delays from Acton Town to Uxbridge due to a points failure at Northfields.

There are minor delays from Acton Town to Heathrow.

Southern: All services cancelled between Shepherd's Bush and Watford

Wednesday 5 June 2024 07:00 , Josh Salisbury

Southern has said it is running no services between Shepherd’s Bush and Watford due to the incident.

This is because all lines are currently blocked.

West Coast mainline services hit by disruption

Wednesday 5 June 2024 06:52 , Josh Salisbury

Emergency services are dealing with an incident between Watford Junction and Bushey, which means trains running between these stations are severely disrupted.

It is hitting Avanti West Coast services on the mainline, as well as London Northwestern Railway on the mainline route.

Also affected are Southern services between Watford Junction and Clapham Junction / East Croydon.

It is expected to last until 9pm.

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