London rail services face severe disruption following major trackside fires

Commuters are facing disruption on a key Overground line due to a major fire in east London.

Fires Impact East and South London Rail

The Weaver Line is suspended between Hackney Downs and Chingford as a result of the trackside blaze in Walthamstow, which has damaged homes and gardens. National Rail have confirmed that the Weaver line is expected to remain closed between Chingford and Hackney Downs until around 12pm on Tuesday. Passengers have been reminded that tickets can be used at no extra cost on Greater Anglia services between London Liverpool Street and Cheshunt, and also on London Buses via any reasonable route.

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Meanwhile, disruption is continuing after a bushfire close to Stratford station on Friday evening. The fire caused extensive damage to some railway signalling equipment, which Network Rail engineers are working to repair. Greater Anglia trains between Tottenham Hale and Stratford will terminate and start from Lea Bridge. Passengers will not be able to travel between Lea Bridge and Stratford by train. There will also be a reduced service on routes to and from Ipswich, Clacton-on-Sea, Colchester Town, Braintree and Southend Victoria.

A fire next to the track in the East Croydon area has meant that some lines have had to be closed. The Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink networks also have been hit by a number of incidents today, resulted in cancellations and delays. There has been three points failures - between Gatwick Airport and Haywards Heath, between Uckfield and Oxted and between Shepherds Bush and Watford Junction. There has also been a fire next to the track at East Croydon and a tree blocking the railway earlier today between Lewes and Brighton. Passengers travelling to Gatwick Airport or Luton Airport Parkway are advised to allow at least an extra 45 minutes for their journeys to ensure they make their flight connections.

Industrial Action on the Underground

A Tube strike caused travel misery across London today as journeys on the Underground were either suspended or severely delayed. The RMT hit back, saying: "Our members are simply seeking to establish what the implications are of proposed wholesale changes to their terms and conditions. That's not entitled, that's a fundamental and basic right."

The Circle and Waterloo & City line services are suspended entirely today. TfL has warned commuters to complete their journeys by 9pm today as some tube lines are expected to finish their services much earlier than usual. A second 24-hour strike will start at 00:01 on Thursday and end at 23:59 BST, a TfL boss has confirmed.

Additional Infrastructure Failures

The network is further burdened by a variety of technical faults:

• Elizabeth line: Minor delays between Paddington and Abbey Wood due to faulty train at Paddington.
• Great Western & South Western Railways: There is a fault at a level crossing between Wokingham and Bracknell meaning services have to run at a reduced speed on all lines. Services running between Reading and Bracknell & Guildford may be cancelled or delayed by up to 40 minutes.
• DLR: There are minor delays on the DLR this morning due to a signal failure at Poplar.
• Watford Junction: A fault on a train that runs between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey means that trains between these stations are currently suspended.
• Chiltern Railways: On the main rail network, a fault with the signalling system has caused severe disruption from London Marylebone - causing trains to be cancelled, delayed by up to 50 minutes or revised at short notice.

Footfall in popular areas of London are down compared to a regular Tuesday morning, according to O2's anonymised mobile data. Barts NHS Health Trust, which operates Mile End Hospital, Newham Hospital, The Royal London Hospital, st Bartholomew’s Hospital and Whipps Cross Hospital, says it will "be flexible with appointment timings" due to the Tube strikes this week.

What to Watch Next

Two major London stations are set to shut for three weeks this summer as part of a £20million upgrade, with commuters warned to expect disruption. London Charing Cross and Waterloo East will close from Sunday, July 26 until Sunday, August 16, while engineers carry out major improvement works. The closures will affect Southeastern services, with trains that normally run into Charing Cross being diverted to London Victoria, London Cannon Street and London Blackfriars instead.