A sewage leak at Watford High Street has stopped Lioness line trains between Watford Junction and Willesden Junction. TfL expects them back about 1.45pm.
There are no Lioness line trains at Watford this morning. Transport for London reports a sewage leak on the track at Watford High Street and has suspended the whole northern half of the line, from Watford Junction to Willesden Junction.
The suspension started at 05:12 today, Saturday 12 September. TfL’s own status feed expects it to lift at about 13:45, with minor delays on the rest of the line until the end of service tonight.
Thirteen stations have no Lioness train while it lasts:
- Watford Junction
- Watford High Street
- Bushey
- Carpenders Park
- Hatch End
- Headstone Lane
- Harrow and Wealdstone
- Kenton
- South Kenton
- North Wembley
- Wembley Central
- Stonebridge Park
- Harlesden
Trains are still running south of there, between Willesden Junction and Euston, with minor delays. TfL says London Underground is accepting Lioness tickets via any reasonable route.
Every detail above is from Transport for London’s own line status feed for the Lioness line, read at 10:47 on 12 September. TfL gives the cause in one line and has published nothing further about it.
What it means for you
If you are going to London from Watford Junction, use London Northwestern Railway. Its Euston trains run on the fast lines, not the tracks the Lioness line uses, and they take 16 to 21 minutes against the Lioness line’s 51, so most people are better off on them on an ordinary day. London Northwestern Railway’s own service disruptions page listed nothing affecting Watford Junction when we read it at 10:40 today. That page loads its incidents with JavaScript, so treat an empty page as unconfirmed rather than as an all clear, and check the departure boards before you set off.
The Metropolitan line is running at Watford, with its own problem at the other end. TfL reports minor delays across the Metropolitan line and no service between Baker Street and Aldgate, because of a collapsed drain on the track at Baker Street. So Watford Underground station has trains, and the run to Baker Street takes 38 minutes, but anyone heading for the City has to change there. TfL says buses and Chiltern Railways services are accepting Metropolitan line tickets.
If your stop is in the suspended section, TfL’s ticket acceptance is the thing to use. London Underground is taking Lioness tickets by any reasonable route. For Harrow and Wealdstone, the Bakerloo line was showing a good service this morning, so the Underground reaches it even though the Lioness line does not.
The Southern service to Clapham Junction is a question mark. Southern runs a slow service from Watford Junction to Clapham Junction over the same DC lines, calling at Watford High Street. It is not covered by TfL’s Lioness feed, and we could not reach Southern’s or National Rail’s disruption pages today to check it: Southern’s travel news page returned a 403 and National Rail’s status page redirected without serving anything. Assume nothing about that train and check the departure board.
Do not assume the 13:45 reopening. It is TfL’s own estimate, taken from its live feed, and it has already moved once this morning: at 10:37 the feed gave 13:36, and ten minutes later it gave 13:45. A track contamination job can run long or clear early. The Lioness line status page is updated continuously and is the only thing worth checking on the day.
Why this section keeps getting hit
The Lioness line between Watford Junction and Queen’s Park runs on the DC lines, a pair of electrified tracks that sit alongside the West Coast Main Line rather than on it. That is why a fault at Watford High Street can take out every station down to Harlesden while London Northwestern Railway’s Euston services carry on past on the fast lines a few feet away.
It is also why closures on this stretch come in whole-section blocks. The next planned one is already in TfL’s schedule: Sunday 20 September, with no service between Willesden Junction and Watford Junction until 16:15. The dates for that and the rest of the autumn closures are on our Watford roadworks and travel page, which we update every week from the same sources.
If you drive instead today, the town centre car park tariffs are on our parking page, and the station car park is run by Saba, not the council.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there no Lioness line trains at Watford today?
Transport for London reports a sewage leak on the track at Watford High Street. It suspended the line between Watford Junction and Willesden Junction at 05:12 on Saturday 12 September.
When will Lioness line trains run again at Watford?
TfL’s status feed gives about 13:45 on Saturday 12 September as the point the suspension lifts, with minor delays on the rest of the line until the end of service. That is an estimate from a live feed, not a promise, so check the status page before you travel.
How do I get from Watford to London while the Lioness line is suspended?
Take a London Northwestern Railway train from Watford Junction to Euston. Those run on the fast lines rather than the tracks the Lioness line uses, and take 16 to 21 minutes against the Lioness line’s 51. The Metropolitan line from Watford Underground station to Baker Street is also running, in 38 minutes, but there is no Metropolitan service onward from Baker Street to Aldgate today.
Is my Lioness line ticket valid on another route?
TfL says London Underground is accepting Lioness line tickets via any reasonable route while the suspension lasts.
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