26.01.15
Burst water main brings Thameslink to a halt
Flooding from a burst water main has caused major disruption for Thameslink services over the weekend and has left the operator unable to run any services between Farringdon and London St Pancras today.
On Friday, a burst water main near Farringdon flooded the railway tunnels between Farringdon and St Pancras. Thames Water attempted to fix the main, but the leak continued to flood the tunnels throughout Saturday and into Sunday.
Immediately after the leak on Friday, Thameslink was still able to operate some services through the tunnel, but there were major delays and as the flooding worsened all services had to be halted.
A tweet from Thameslink this morning said that approximately 28,000 litres of water was being pumped out an hour but there was an estimated 250,000 litres left to move.
As of 3pm Sunday Network Rail reported there was still water one metre deep in the tunnels. There are concerns the flooding may have caused damage to safety equipment and infrastructure.
A spokesperson for Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates Thameslink services, said: "The disruption caused by the burst Thames Water water main near Farringdon has been hugely frustrating for passengers and railway staff alike but in the interests of safety we have to follow the advice of Network Rail and not run through the area.
"We are doing all we can to help passengers on our reduced service with alternative transport arranged with other operators and rail replacement buses where possible. However, on a working weekday, a problem like this is bound to cause significant disruption and we can only apologise.”
In addition to no services running between Farringdon and St Pancras, there is also reduced service on all other Thameslink routes.
A Thames Water spokesman said: "We're really sorry to commuters who have had disruptions to their journeys today. And we would also like to apologise to any of our customers who have experienced interruptions to their water supply.
“We have been working around the clock this weekend, with help from Thameslink, Network Rail and Transport for London, to fix the leak as fast as possible while keeping our customers in supply at the same time.”
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