Bus carrying schoolchildren crashes with lorry on major road

Drivers on the M6 were facing major traffic this afternoon after a crash involving multiple vehicles slowed down traffic near Junction 13 Dunston and Junction 14 Stafford.

Seven miles of congestion were reported, but all lanes reopened more than an hour ago and traffic is steadily moving.

A person has been hit by a train between Cambridge and Ely.

All lines between these stations are closed while the emergency services are at the scene. Trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 3.30pm.

This is affecting the following routes:

• CrossCountry between Stansted Airport / Cambridge and Birmingham New Street
• Greater Anglia between Stansted Airport and Norwich
• Great Northern between London Kings Cross and Ely / Kings Lynn
• Great Northern between Cambridge and Ely

If you’ve been affected by what happened on the network today, there is always someone to talk to. You can contact the Samaritans on 116 123 from any phone for a confidential chat.

The M18 is closed near Scunthorpe after two crashes in the area.

The closure is on the southbound carriageway between junctions 7 and 5.

Drivers are being diverted via the exit and entry slip roads.

The A46 has reopened northbound after a crash involving a HGV and a bus.

National Highways says traffic is flowing well and there aren’t any delays in the area at the moment.

The M62 is currently blocked eastbound between junctions 34 and 35 near East Cowick after a crash.

The emergency services are already at the scene but delays are building on approach.

This morning, all lines were blocked between Clapham Junction and Wimbledon following overrunning engineering works.

During these works, engineers found a fault which is still affecting a set of points.

Staff are still on site working to rectify this issue and some lines are now open for trains to run.

A reduced number of trains are running through Wimbledon, which means trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised until the end of the day.

It’s affecting services between London Waterloo and Surbiton / Hampton Court / Teddington / Shepperton / Woking / Chessington South / Epsom / Woking / Dorking / Guildford

Train and bus performance statistics will be ‘plastered on the walls’ of Department for Transport (DfT) offices.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh told MPs she wants to ensure everyone at her department is ‘taking responsibility’ for the experience of passengers.

She doesn’t want the DfT to ‘rest on our laurels’ while legislation for major public transport reforms is being developed.

She told the Commons’ Transport Select Committee: ‘This has been the biggest challenge I have tried to bring to the department, that we are all responsible for the real-world outcomes, not simply outputs.

‘I keep on joking that I want – well, I’m not joking, actually, I’m being deadly serious – the performance stats and our outcomes plastered on the walls of the department, so that we are all taking responsibility for the actual experience of passengers, both on rail and bus, in the real world.’

The government hopes legislation for the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) – a new public sector body to hold responsibility for rail infrastructure and train operation – will be introduced in summer 2025, with GBR becoming operational by the end of 2026 ‘at the earliest’.

The nationalisation of all franchised passenger train services when existing contracts expire will be completed by October 2027, she said.

There’s been a points failure which means all lines between Watford Junction and Shepherds Bush are blocked.

Trains running between the two stations might be revised to start and end at Shepherds Bush instead.

Services that run from East Croydon towards Watford Junction in each direction, will no longer be able to stop at:

• Shepherds Bush
• Wembley central Central
• Harrow & Wealdstone
• Watford Junction

The disruption to Southern services is expected to last until at least 1.30pm.

Overrunning engineering works between Clapham Junction and Wimbledon caused cancellations and delays between the two stations this morning.

All lines have now reopened, but disruption is expected to last until the end of the day, impacting South Western Railway services.

Passengers could face delays of up to 40 minutes on top of normal journey times.

These are the service alterations currently in place:

• London Waterloo to Shepperton stopping at Wimbledon will be diverted via Richmond running fast from Clapham Junction to Strawberry Hill in both directions
• Woking to London Waterloo stopping services will be running fast from Surbiton to London Waterloo
• Guildford to London Waterloo stopping services via Clandon will be running fast from Surbiton to London Waterloo
• London Waterloo to London Waterloo rounders via Wimbledon will run fast from New Malden to London Waterloo
• Services in the direction of London Waterloo from Wimbledon will not be calling at Earlsfield

The A46 is closed northbound between the A607 near Cossington and the B676 after a crash which involved a HGV and a bus.

Emergency services are at the scene and recovery work is underway.

National Highways has put a diversion route in place:

• From the A46 Wanlip junction and take the first exit and travel on the A6 north
• At the A6/A6004 roundabout, follow the A6004 north west along Epinal Way
• Turn right at Warwick Way to re-join the A6 at Loughborough town centre
• Continue on the A6 north west for 3 miles until the signalised junction with the A6006, then turn right and follow the A6006 for 10 miles until it rejoins the A46 (T) at the Dalby junction.

There’s been a fault with the signalling system between Guildford and Havant and an earlier fault on a train at Godalming means that trains have to run at a reduced speed on all lines.

This is affecting all South Western Railway services running to and from London Waterloo.

Trains are facing half-hour delays and could be cancelled or revised, and the disruption is expected to last until 3pm.

National Rail says: ‘Due to a signalling problem at Milford, trains may be delayed as they pass through the area.

‘Lines may be blocked for a period of time to allow engineers to investigate, during these periods trains may be diverted via Eastleigh.’

A lorry has crashed into a bridge in the Busby area, which has blocked all lines running between Glasgow Central and East Kilbride.

This is impacting ScotRail services which aren’t able to run between those stations while the bridge is assessed and repaired.

You can use the following ScotRail services at no additional cost between Glasgow Central – Pollokshaws West.

• Glasgow Central – Neilston
• Glasgow Central – Cathcart Circle
• Glasgow Central – Barrhead

The disruption is expected to last until about 1pm.

There’s been a signal fault in the New Cross area which is blocking some lines running between Kent and London.

It’s impacting Southeastern services running between Charing Cross and Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Ramsgate and Dover Priory.

Services could be cancelled or revised, and the disruption is expected to last until 12.30pm when it’s hoped repairs will be completed.

Delays on the Northern line have now cleared up, and overall the majority of Tube lines are running a good service.

However there are now severe delays on the Piccadilly line between Acton Town and Heathrow Terminals / Uxbridge due to an earlier customer incident at Turnpike Lane.

Network Rail has shared a picture of the damage done to a railway bridge in Grantham this morning.

Several services have been cancelled or faced hour-long delays after a lorry hit a bridge, meaning lines had to be closed while it was repaired.

Lines are back open now, but Network Rail says commuters faced ‘needless delays’ and urged lorry drivers to make sure they know the height and size of their vehicles before driving under a bridge.

The M6 northbound is blocked after a collision involving a van and a trailer, which has overturned.

The closure is between junctions 13 and 14 near Stafford.

Traffic officers are on scene and recovery of the vehicles involved has been arranged, National Highways says.

Drivers are facing hour-long delays and there is four miles of queueing traffic on the approach.

There’s one lane closed on the A19 southbound this morning at the A186/A191 junction after a multi-vehicle crash.

Drivers are facing 30-minute delays and there is about five miles of queueing traffic approaching the scene.

As we reported earlier, a car crashed into a bridge in Grantham which forced lines to close.

Rail lines have now reopened and Network Rail says it is safe for trains to run normally, but due to severe congestion trains could still be cancelled, revised, or delayed by up to an hour.

This is affecting the following services:

• East Midlands Railway between Norwich and Sheffield / Liverpool Lime Street
• East Midlands Railway between Nottingham and Skegness
• Grand Central between London Kings Cross and Bradford Interchange / Sunderland
• Hull Trains between London Kings Cross and Hull / Beverley
• LNER between London Kings Cross and Lincoln / Leeds / Hull / Bradford Forster Square / Skipton / Harrogate / York / Middlesbrough / Newcastle / Glasgow Central / Berwick-upon-Tweed / Edinburgh / Stirling / Aberdeen
• Lumo between London Kings Cross and Newcastle

The disruption is expected to last until at least midday.

The A14 westbound exit slip road at junction 33 for Milton Interchange has been forced to close for emergency resurfacing works.

The repairs won’t be completed until tonight, with work continuing overnight.

Drivers are facing 40-minute delays and there are six miles of queues on the approach.

An independent review of rail fare prosecutions and enforcement is set to be ordered by the government following claims of train operators taking disproportionate action.

Last month we covered a man who saved £1.85 on a train ticket and was at risk of getting a criminal record because of it, after buying an ‘anytime’ ticket which could not, in fact, be used at any time.

In response to widespread backlash, Northern paused prosecuting a number of penalty fares where they admit ticketing is ‘very complex for customers.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh is expected to announce today that the Office of Rail and Road will analyse how suspected fare evasion is handled.

This will include an assessment of whether ticketing terms and conditions are clear for passengers, and when prosecution is appropriate.

It’s understood Ms Haigh is not seeking to prevent operators taking action against people who deliberately avoid paying the correct fare.