Elizabeth line suspended between Heathrow Terminals after track fault

The Rotherhithe Tunnel was closed for hours in both directions today after an issue with the fire safety system.

Here is a full statement from TfL: ‘The Rotherhithe Tunnel has now re-opened and we apologise for the disruption caused by its closure.

‘This was due to an issue that had been identified with the tunnel’s fire safety system, which has now been fixed.

‘We reopened the tunnel as soon as it was safe to do so and we would like to thank people travelling in the area for their patience during the closure.’

If you’re travelling on the M25 in Essex tonight, prepare for rush hour delays.

Traffic is building up on the clockwise carriageway on the M25 between junctions J29 (A127) and J30 (A13 Lakeside/Purfleet) after a crash.

The incident is expected to clear by 6.30pm, National Highways said in an alert.

The crash site is located around five miles north of Dartford Crossing and near Thurrock Services.

The Rotherhithe Tunnel remains shut in both directions due to ‘technical problems.’

The closure could push traffic onto the nearest available crossings such as Blackwall Tunnel and Tower Bridge.

Traffic service Inrix shows heavy congestion at Blackwall Tunnel this afternoon reaching into Poplar and East Greenwich.

On Tower Bridge, drivers were warned of delays due to a crash which is expected to cause delays until about 4pm.

It could be a difficult commute for passengers between Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington after an incident closed all lines between the stations.

All lines have been closed after an emergency incident between Warrington Central and Manchester Oxford Road.

Trains could be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised, with disruption expected to last until 5pm.

East Midlands Railway, Northern and TransPennine Express trains are affected.

Here are all the routes that are facing delays and cancellations.

• East Midlands Railway between Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham / Norwich
• Northern between Liverpool Lime Street / Warrington Central and Manchester Oxford Road
• TransPennine Express between Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes

National Rail told passengers to check with the live journey planner before travelling.

It is also worth keeping hold of tickets and making note of journey times if your trip is disrupted as you might be entitled to compensation.

Passengers at the far end of the Metropolitan line in zone 9 are facing delays after an obstruction on the track.

TfL warned of severe delays between Moor Park, Hertfordshire, and Chesham, Buckinghamshire, due to the obstruction.

The next departure from Chesham Tube station will be at about 2.30pm, the latest TfL alert said.

The rest of the line and the TfL network has good service.

Motorists wanting to cross the River Thames through the busy tunnel have been forced to look for alternative routes after Rotherhithe Tunnel closed suddenly.

It is due to ‘technical problems’ on the A101 which has closed the tunnel in both directions between Rotherhithe and Limehouse, traffic analyst Inrix says.

This means nearby crossings like Tower Bridge and Blackwall Tunel could be busier than usual with spillover traffic.

We approached TfL for a comment.

Rotherhithe Tunnel – opened in 1908 – is one of the very few tunnels where pedestrians, cyclists and motorists share the same tunnel.

Great Western Railway passengers are facing the major hurdle of a broken down freight train this morning.

The train is currently blocking some lines towards Newbury, meaning trains through this station and Westbury, near Bristol, may be cancelled or delayed.

If you can’t go around you, you can’t go through it and you can’t go over it, you’ll have to get a taxi to shuttle you around it.

GWR said: ‘Taxis are being sourced to run a shuttle service between Newbury, Kintbury, Hungerford, Bedwyn and Pewsey.

‘Disruption is expected until 12:00.’

It’s taking longer than planned to fix a faulty track at Petts Wood.

Major disruption was expected to last until 1pm anyway, but it was hoped trains would resume from 10.30am, albeit with delays.

That’s been pushed back to midday for Southeastern services, despite Thameslink trains running again between Orpington and West Hampstead Thameslink / Luton.

Southeastern said: ‘Unfortunately the work is taking longer than expected and the engineers had to extend the estimated time of completion.’

If you were hoping for a cheeky getaway free from the stress of a summer holiday travel, think again.

You might find yourself waiting an average of 37 minutes for your flight to depart if you’re flying from Gatwick Airport.

Some 95% of flights scheduled to leave before 9am this morning were delayed, according to analysis of data from FlightRadar24.

This brings the ongoing disruption into a third day, with Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary continuing his calls for the head of air traffic control to step down.

Urgent repairs are underway after a track fault was found during an inspection at Petts Wood, southeast London.

Severe disruption will continue until it is fixed, with 40-minute delays and cancellations until 1pm.

Trains may terminate at an earlier stop.

Thameslink services between Orpington and West Hampstead Thameslink / Luton are affected.

Southeastern is also affected between Dover Priory / Ramsgate / Faversham / Ashford International / Hastings and London Cannon Street / London Charing Cross, and between Sandwich / Faversham / Ore / Tunbridge Wells and London Charing Cross, and also between Tonbridge and London Cannon Street.

Drivers heading north face 60-minute delays due to a collision along the M1 in West Yorkshire.

This has closed two of five northbound lanes between J41 at Wakefield and J42 at Lofthouse.

One of four southbound lanes are also closed, causing 20-minute delays in this direction, National Highways said.

Police, fire and ambulance services are on the scene.

Staffordshire Police has closed off the A50 in both directions amid an incident they are investigating.

Delays of at least 45 minutes are being reported as traffic is piling up near the scene.

National Highways warned that the major trunk road linking Warrington and Leicester is shut in both directions at the Heron Cross junction.

Traffic monitoring system Inrix issued an alert, saying: ‘A50 in both directions closed, queueing traffic due to police incident from B5490 Stanley Matthews Way (Stadium Junction) to A5007 Victoria Place Link (Heron Cross/Fenton).

‘Congestion to Alhambra Interchange. Traffic can re-join using the slip roads.’

A live map from National Highways shows that traffic is currently queueing back to Meir, Stoke-on-Trent.

No further details on this morning’s incident have been released by police.

Disruptions have been reported on Elizabeth Line services this morning.

A fault with the signalling system at Ealing Broadway means trains have to run at reduced speed on some lines.

As a result, services may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.

Routes between Abbey Wood and Heathrow Terminal 4 / Maidenhead / Reading, also between Shenfield and Heathrow Terminal 5, have all been affected.

Disruption is expected until at least 9am, so people are being urged to check the latest information before they travel.

Good morning from the Metro news team.

It is just past 6.30am and delays have already been reported on several Tube lines.

This is everything you need to know about travel on the London Underground this morning:

• Circle Line – severe delays have been reported due to the late finish of engineering work at Tower Hill
• Hammersmith & City Line – minor delays have been reported due to the late finish of engineering work at Tower Hill
• Metropolitan Line – there are minor delays following the late finish of engineering work at Harrow-on-the-Hill
• There is good service on all other lines