London Euston in CHAOS: Train derails after being hit by LANDSLIDE near Watford Junction
A TRAIN was derailed by a landslide caused by flash floods, leaving Londoners facing travel chaos this morning.
The train was derailed by a landslide
The train came off the tracks near Watford Junction station, in Hertfordshire, causing major disruption to services.
It was reportedly swept off the railway by a sudden landslide caused by the torrential rain which has battered most of the south east of England early this morning.
According to Virgin Trains, the service struck debris on the tracks and then hit another train travelling in the opposite direction before coming off the tracks.
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The shock landslide was caused by torrential rain
A London Midland train has been derailed this morning
The derailment is causing severe delays to services
And a Twitter user on a service in the area, writing as the Rugby Rail Users Group, described trains "stacked" up unable to move, adding: "The ontrain announcement said landslide and derailment at Watford Junction, not good at all."
Services travelling in and out of London Euston station are heavily affected but there are no reports of any injuries, operator London Midland said.
Commuters at Euston posted pictures on social media of chaotic scenes, with all of the announcement boards blanked out as services were cancelled en masse.
Made it thru rain & strike only to find everything delayed or cancelled out of Euston. pic.twitter.com/1bbtytMJdS
— Sharon Heal (@Sharonheal) September 16, 2016
#Euston right now. :) first day on the job pic.twitter.com/vUe0LSqyqi
— April Sowers @ EGX (@0Apes0) September 16, 2016
A spokesman for the company added that tickets for its services are being accepted by other train companies.
They said: "There is a train derailment at Watford Junction - it is the 6.19am service from Milton Keynes to London Euston.
"It happened near the tunnels at Watford Junction station - there are no reports of any injuries."
Network Rail said the disruption is expected to last for the rest of the day.
Woke up mid storm (5.45) to go to boxing and thought better of it. Turns out the train I was meant to catch derailed at Watford Junction ??????
— sarah shephard (@sarahsportmag) September 16, 2016
Due to a derailment this morning, there will be delays and cancellations. Ticket acceptance in place on other train operating companies
— London Midland (@LondonMidland) September 16, 2016
Major disruption between Milton Keynes Central and London Euston until the end of the day #WatfordJunction https://t.co/lA4C4zosr6
— National Rail (@nationalrailenq) September 16, 2016
2nd day on the job, travelling to the Midlands office, and all services cancelled/suspended from Euston. Smooth morning so far ????????????????????????
— Emma Claydon (@Claydon94) September 16, 2016
A spokesman said a "small portion of the train became derailed but remained upright" after it "struck a landslip".
He added: "Emergency services and Network Rail engineers are on site and passengers are being transferred to continue their journeys," he added.
"Initially, all lines of the West Coast main line at this point were blocked but two of the four lines reopened at about 8am and services have resumed."
British Transport Police said officers were called to reports of a landslide at the Hunton Bridge Tunnel near Watford and that they are currently working with fire and ambulance services at the scene.
Britain has been battered by torrential rain and thunderstorms overnight after unseasonably hot weather which saw the highest September temperatures for half a century.