National Rail announces that disruption caused by faulty comms system has cleared
National Rail has announced that the delays affecting the British train network have cleared, and apologised “if you experienced delays to your journey this morning”
In a statement, it said:
This morning, a nationwide fault with the GSMR system was affecting communication between train drivers and signallers. This meant trains were unable to register onto their route for the start of service and deregister to end their service.
The fault has now been resolved and services are returning to normal. There may be some residual disruption whilst timetables are restored. Please monitor live departure boards and check before you travel.
The fault was being investigated at the Network Rail telecoms hub in Doncaster, while the BBC reported that a faulty hardware card in Stoke installed overnight may have been the source of the problem.
Drivers were using manual codes to log in to the system, which was delaying departures, but train operators were keen to stress there were no safety implications.
Disruption primarily affected high-frequency services in the south-east, especially Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express – along with South Western, Southeastern and parts of the Elizabeth line running west of the capital. Some ScotRail services were also affected. Trains in Northern Ireland did not experience the same problems, although there were reports of delays in Wales.
Southeastern have published a map showing where they expect delays to continue to occur, although they say disruption should be over by 11.30am.
⚠️UPDATE: We are continuing to work to get services to normal and expect most trains to be back to normal by 11:30.
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) December 6, 2024
📲For more information on this incident click here: https://t.co/Y2EZ2B1Gow
👇The map below shows how services are expected to be by 11:30 #SeDisruption pic.twitter.com/OUPIQElfcc
Currently most ThamesLink trains passing through London St Pancras International are still showing delays.
There is also a problem between Leeds and Wakefield Westgate unrelated to the radio incident that is causing significant delays.
National Rail reports that overhead wires were damaged by a falling tree. Network Rail has removed the tree, it said, and made some repairs to the overheads so that trains are safe to coast through the area, but more safety checks are required before the lines can reopen. National Rail says major disruption is expected until the end of the day.
The BBC’s transport correspondent Sean Dilley has reported that the cause of the communications fault that affected the British train network this morning was “a new hardware card installed overnight at the telecommunications node in Stoke.”
More details soon …
Southeastern has said that it expects services to return to normal by 11.30am.
In a statement the train operator said “Whilst the fault is not fixed, trains are now able to set up the radio systems when being prepared for their journey, so we are expecting the delays caused by this to begin reducing.”
Here is the scene earlier at London Victoria station. Some departures from the station now appear to be taking place on time, but nearly every arrival into London is still running at least a couple of minutes late, as there have been delays across most of the train network in the south-east of England.
Our community team would like to hear from you how your train journey has been affected by the nationwide fault that has hit the British rail network this morning. You can find out how to get in touch with them here.
Nigel Harris, a former managing editor at Rail magazine, and contributor to the Green Signals podcast, has told Sky News this morning that this type of fault is “very rare”.
He said that it was difficult at this juncture to know the cause of such a fault, adding “It can take a few seconds to reboot something, or it can cause chaos for a long time.”
He noted that the tone coming out of National Rail seems “fairly optimistic” of getting things back to normal quite quickly.
Earlier National Rail explained that train drivers are unable to automatically log on to the faulty system, but that a manual backup code was working to enable them to connect.
PA Media reports that the system affected – GSM-R – is designed to enable driver and signallers to communicate digitally at all times, including while trains are in areas such as tunnels and deep cuttings where previous analogue systems did not work.
Chiltern Railways, which had not previously been listed as one of the train operators affected by the national communications problem on British trains this morning, has said now that its services are subject to delays.
In a statement National Rail has described the impact on passengers as “minimal”, with PA Media reporting it said:
We have discovered a fault with the railway’s radio communication system that is preventing it from automatically “logging on”.
The back-up manual log-in system is being used instead, causing a few minutes of delay at the start of the day.
Once up and running the system is working normally and the impact for passengers is minimal.
Having said “the impact for passengers is minimal” it should be noted that at present there are still delays on most trains going through Gatwick Airport.
ScotRail services in Scotland are faring better, with the earlier warning of minor delays across all services being removed, and Elizabeth line departures from Reading appear to be back on schedule, although there are still some inbound delays at Heathrow.
Updated
The BBC reports that it has been told that engineers believe the fault is at the national telecommunications hub in Doncaster.
Transport correspondent Sean Dilley writes:
Commuters across the country have been disrupted after the digital communication system used by drivers failed to connect on start-up.
We’ve been told that there are no safety critical issues as staff have been using a workaround to manually reconnect.
A well-rehearsed back-up is being used where drivers enter a code provided to them … when the correct code is entered, the system becomes fully operational and will remain so.
National rail says it expects disruption to last until noon
In a statement about the radio communication problems that are disrupting trains in Britain, National Rail says it expects disruption to last until noon.
It says that in England services across the Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express network are expected to be disrupted this morning, with some specific alterations.
Brighton to Southampton Central will only be running to either Bognor Regis or Chichester
London Victoria to Ore will terminate and restart at Hastings
London Victoria to Brighton (Gatwick Express) will terminate and restart at Gatwick Airport
King’s Lynn to London Kings Cross will only run between King’s Lynn and Cambridge
National Rail state that tickets will be accepted for no extra cost on Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern services via any reasonable route, and on the London Underground on any reasonable route between London terminals.
Additionally South Western Railway will accept tickets between Southampton Central, Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth & Southsea and London Waterloo.
South Western Railway is among the operators to cancel some services, PA Media reports.
It said in a message to passengers: “We have been informed of a national issue with communication systems affecting service this morning.
“This means that trains may be delayed before they start their journey.
“This is because it is preventing our train drivers from contacting the respective signalling centre this morning and a reset is having to be performed before the train can start its journey.”
ThamesLink’s interactive tool showing delays suggests that much of the network north of London Bridge is affected with minor delays, as are trains in the Wimbledon area. Trains between Southampton Central and Fareham are experiencing severe delays.
ScotRail says no impact on train safety and there are 'some minor delays in places'
In messages posted to social media, ScotRail has tried to reassure passengers that a nationwide problem with communications between drivers and signallers does not have an impact on safety.
It said “Due to a national fault with the radio system between drivers and signallers, services are subject to delays. Please note that this does not affect the safety of train running as alternative methods are in place. Speak to staff or press help points for further information.”
The ScotRail website is showing 36 out of 36 routes facing “minor disruption”, and has said to passengers via social media:
Our colleagues at Network Rail are experiencing an industry-wide problem with communications systems. Thankfully ScotRail services are operating well, with some minor delays in places. Please check before you travel.
‘Nationwide fault’ disrupting trains across the UK, Network Rail says
Rail passengers across Britain are facing disruption on Friday morning due to a fault with a radio system used by train drivers and signallers.
In a statement, Network Rail said “There is a nationwide fault with the communication system used between train drivers and signallers. As a result, services across the National Rail network may be subject to disruption this morning.”
It named routes affected as:
Elizabeth line services between Reading / Heathrow Airport and Reading
South Western Railway
ScotRail
Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink services
National Rail advised that trains across the network are having to start journeys later because “of a nationwide fault with the onboard ‘GSMR radio system that allows communication between train drivers and signal operators”
Passengers are asked to check for delays before they travel, allow extra time for their journey and to monitor live departure boards.
