Update: 14:30
Chris Heaton Harris has said that safety is a priority after cracks were found in the Hitachi train chassis.
Update: 13:50
Hull Trains have resumed services. More information here
Update: 13:35
TransPennine Express has said that Ticket Acceptance is in place with LNER on both train and rail replacement bus services.
LNER still is saying DO NOT TRAVEL, and tickets will be accepted and valid up until Sunday 16th May.
No recent updates from Great Western Railway
Update 12:17
Hull Trains has sent RailAdvent the following statement as train services resume
We are pleased to confirm that following thorough checks by Hitachi on the Hull Trains Fleet of Class 800 series trains, services will now resume as normal.
Due to the significant disruption that has taken place we expect our services to be extremely busy and we cannot guarantee that social distancing guidelines will be adhered to. All passengers must wear a face covering.
Those customers who were booked on cancelled services today can receive a full refund without any fees by applying through our website.
We would like to apologise to all passengers for the impact this may have caused.
Update 11:25:
LNER are beginning to run a few trains from London Kings Cross to Leeds and Edinburgh. The advice remains DO NOT TRAVEL at the time of writing.
According to the LNER website, the first service will be the 12:03 London Kings Cross to Leeds service.
Leeds services will call additionally at Peterborough*, Stevenage, Grantham, Newark North Gate and Retford, whilst Edinburgh services call additionally at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
*- Peterborough is an additional stop for southbound services.
Update 11:10:
GWR has released update ticket acceptance for passengers:
- Avanti West Coast between Birmingham New Street and London Euston
- London Northwestern Railway between Birmingham New Street and London Euston
- West Midlands Railway between Hereford / Worcester and Birmingham New Street
- Chiltern Railways via any reasonable route
- CrossCountry via any reasonable route
Update 11:05:
Hitachi Rail has released the following statement:
Some Class 800s have been taken out of passenger service as a precautionary measure to allow for thorough investigations. We are working with partners to resolve this issue as quickly & safely as possible. We would like to offer our sincerest apologies to passengers impacted.
Update 10:55:
Great Western Railway has sent RailAdvent the following statement:
A GWR spokesperson said: “A number of Class 800 series Hitachi trains from several train companies have been taken out of service today for checks as a precautionary measure. This problem is being investigated by Hitachi and once trains have been checked, we hope to be able to release them back into service as soon as possible.
“This will affect a significant number of today's Intercity services and local lines are also likely to be extremely busy. Customers are advised not to travel. Refunds will be provided and customers should visit gwr.com for more information.”
Update 10:02:
GWR are saying that stopper services between London Paddington and Reading, Didcot, Oxford, Bristol and Exeter will continue to operate. Cardiff to Portsmouth services and 75% of Plymouth to Penzance services will also run as normal.
Update 09:58:
Great Western Railway has advised that there will be no train service or alternative transport for through travel on any of these routes:
- London Paddington – Swindon – Bath Spa – Bristol Temple Meads
- London Paddington – Swindon – Bristol Parkway – Newport – Cardiff Central – Swansea
- London Paddington – Reading – Taunton – Exeter St Davids – Plymouth – Penzance
- London Paddington – Reading – Oxford – Evesham – Worcester – Great Malvern – Hereford
- London Paddington – Reading – Swindon – Gloucester – Cheltenham Spa
Update 09:30:
Travel advice by operators has been updated for passengers needing to travel today:
- Hull Trains:
- Road transport will be provided if travelling from Selby or Howden to Sheffield to change to a London St Pancras service.
- LNER has released a disruption map to detail where you can travel and what operators have ticket acceptance in place (Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Northern, Thameslink and TransPennine Expres). Click here to see the map.
- Great Western Railway ticket acceptance is in place with Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway
Update 08:53:
TransPennine Express have provided RailAdvent with the following statement.
A number of Class 800 series trains from several train companies have been taken out of service today for checks as a precautionary measure, including our Nova 1 trains.
This problem is being investigated by the train manufacturer and once trains have been checked, we hope to be able to release them back into service as soon as possible.
This will affect a significant number of services on our Newcastle to Liverpool route and we are advising customers not to travel on this route today.
Update 08:50:
Great Western Railway has released the following statement.
Due to some of our Intercity Express Trains being withdrawn from service for precautionary checks, there will be network wide disruption to services today
Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Railway are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.
Update 08:40:
Hull Trains have provided RailAdvent with the following statement.
“A number of Class 800 series Hitachi trains from several train companies have been taken out of service today for checks as a precautionary measure.”
“This problem is being investigated by Hitachi and once trains have been checked, we hope to be able to release them back into service as soon as possible.”
“This could affect a significant number of services on Hull Trains and passengers should check before they travel.”
08:30
Hull Trains, London North Eastern Railway, TransPennine Express and Great Western Railway are advising passengers not to travel this morning.
Hull Trains say that due to a ‘fault with the Hull Trains fleet of trains' there will be short notice cancellations throughout the day, with ticket acceptance with Northern, between Hull and Sheffield, and East Midlands Railway, between Sheffield and London St Pancras. The operator says if you are at Grantham or Retford, then you will need to speak to station staff.
Great Western Railway is saying that no “High-Speed trains” will operate between London and Bristol Temple Meads, Swansea, Penzance, Hereford or Cheltenham Spa and are advising passengers not to attempt travel.
LNER have advised that a DO NOT TRAVEL advisory is in place on the entire LNER network due to ‘a problem under investigation.
TransPennine Express is saying that there will be cancellations to trains between Newcastle and Liverpool Lime Street due to ‘a problem currently under investigation'.
More information will be released when it is confirmed by the train operating companies.
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Nothing new is there. New trains will always come across with problems and defects.
Typical, got rid of the tried and trusted HST in a panic and now have nothing to fall back on. A little bit of – Déjà vu springs to mind.
The good old HST didn’t have problems like this.
Are the new trains progress, I don’t think so.