Update from LNER and Network Rail East Coast regarding disruption on Sunday 16 August 2026

Due to the extent of the damage, trains were unable to travel into or out of London, unfortunately resulting in multiple cancellations across East Coast operators.

Station teams worked hard to keep customers informed during a fast-moving, dynamic situation at peak travel time. To keep customers moving, arrangements were made with other operators on the West Coast Main Line to carry LNER customers using their existing tickets.

LNER extended tickets dated Sunday 16 August to Monday 17 August and encouraged customers who could defer their travel to do so. Tickets have since been extended to Tuesday 18 August.

Due to Network Rail needing to safely access the line to carry out overnight repairs, the 19:25 service from Edinburgh to London King's Cross had to terminate at Peterborough. The station team was on hand to help and support customers, arranging alternative transport and overnight accommodation for those impacted.

Gunnar Lindahl, Joint Operations Director for LNER and Network Rail, said:

We’d like to offer our sincere apologies to customers impacted by the disruption yesterday. This was caused by damage to the overhead line equipment on the East Coast Main Line near Biggleswade.

Due to the extent of the damage, services were unable to run as scheduled. Our teams in our operational centre worked hard alongside other train operators to keep customers moving to their destinations and our on board crews and station teams did their best to keep customers informed and find alternative routes. However, with a high volume of customers wishing to travel and the number of services which were able to run, significant delays and disruption were experienced. We’re sorry about the inconvenience caused to customers and understand their disappointment and frustration.

Network Rail colleagues worked through the night to make the infrastructure safe and carry out repairs to allow services to resume this morning. However, engineers now need further access to the railway to fully rectify the damage. We’re planning to carry out these final repairs overnight tonight (Mon 17 Aug), to minimise any further disruption.

In the meantime, trains can continue to use all lines through this area. However, a temporary restriction remains in place on one line, where trains are operating under special arrangements until the full repairs are completed. Customers are encouraged to check details of their journey before setting off.

With trains and crews being displaced following the disruption, two of today's (Monday 17 August) northbound and southbound services have been cancelled and alterations to some services has taken place. The latest information is available on the LNER website Travel Alerts for your Train Journey | LNER

Customers with tickets dated for travel on Sunday 16 August, who chose to defer their journey, can use them to travel on any LNER service up to and including Tuesday 18 August. More details and information on how to claim refunds and/or compensation is available on the LNER website - Travel Alerts for your Train Journey | LNER