Railway line blocked on major London route after faulty train

The Christmas Eve travel is off to a sticky start for train passengers travelling to London Euston after a blocked line is causing delays.

Passengers travelling on Avanti West Coast or London Northwestern Railway services face delays after a fault on a train is blocking the London-bound line between Rugby and Milton Keynes Central.

It means trains to London Euston are diverted via Northampton which extends journey times by 30 minutes, with disruption expected until at least 9am.

Meanwhile, a broken rail between Stevenage and King’s Cross is forcing LNER trains to run slower than usual towards London which is causing delays of up to 10 minutes. The disruption is expected to clear by midday.

On the UK’s road network, drivers were caught in traffic delays on the M5 near Birmingham this morning after a crash that closed the southbound lanes at junction J3. Traffic is now flowing freely.

Overnight snow on the M62 caused disruption at the weekend, and while more is likely to fall throughout December, it is not expected to cause any serious traffic problems today.