Euston Station, one of the busiest railway stations in London, faced a major disruption on Sunday morning due to a points failure that blocked all lines. A points failure is a problem with the equipment that allows trains to switch between tracks. This caused trains to and from the station to be cancelled or delayed by up to 90 minutes.
The issue was reported at about 10:45 am and lasted until 1 pm, when Network Rail announced that the lines had reopened. However, passengers were still advised to check before travelling as there could be residual delays due to the congestion.
How did the passengers react?
The disruption affected thousands of passengers who were travelling to or from London on Sunday. Many of them were left stranded on trains or at the station, waiting for updates or alternative transport options. Some of them expressed their frustration and anger on social media, sharing pictures and videos of the crowded platforms and trains.
One of them was Kya Banasko, an artist from Manchester, who was travelling to London to watch Arsenal play Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League. She said she was expecting to miss the match because of the delays. She wrote on X: “Got the 9:20 train from Manchester Piccadilly to watch Arsenal play at 2pm. Still on a train due to disruptions and delays and won’t get to Euston til past 3:30. These services are a joke.”
Another passenger was Kenneth Wilson, who is partially sighted. He was travelling from Coventry and was told to get off at Northampton at 11:10 am. He said he was forced to make his own way to Wellingborough with no replacement bus service. He wrote on X: “Absolutely disgraceful service from @AvantiWestCoast today. No assistance for disabled passengers, no information, no alternative transport. Left stranded in Northampton.”
What did the rail operators say?
The rail operators that use Euston Station, such as Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway and London Overground, apologised for the inconvenience and offered compensation or refunds to the affected passengers. They also said that tickets for journeys that had been disrupted would be valid on some other train services.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “We’re sorry for the disruption to services in and out of London Euston earlier today while our engineers repaired a fault with the signalling system in the area. Lines have now reopened but while train times return to normal we’d advise passengers to check before they travel by using National Rail Enquiries.”
A spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this morning’s points failure at Euston which has resulted in significant delays and cancellations across our network. We are working hard to get our services back on track as quickly as possible and we thank our customers for their patience and understanding.