Cable theft at St Albans sparks major train travel disruption
The theft of signalling cables at Napsbury has caused significant disruption to the train network, according to National Rail. The incident has affected East Midlands Railway services between Sheffield, Nottingham, Corby, and London St Pancras, as well as Thameslink services between Bedford and East Croydon, and between Luton and Rainham in Kent.
National Rail advised that the replacement work for the stolen cables is taking place overnight, and normal services are expected to resume by approximately 06:00 GMT on Sunday. However, the theft has resulted in 'major disruption', with trains running between Luton and London St Pancras International potentially being cancelled, severely delayed by up to 60 minutes, or revised.
East Midlands Railway customers are being informed that trains are being manually sent through the affected area, leading to delays. Thameslink also warned of lengthy delays and more frequent train changes for their customers.
For those affected, alternative travel arrangements have been posted on the National Rail website (https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service-disruptions/st-albans-city-20260117/).
