Delays for east's rail services

Most of the services hit by delays are run by GNER

Rail passengers in the east of England have been warned they face long delays after signalling problems in Cambridgeshire.

Network Rail said a signal failure at Huntingdon on Tuesday morning would cause problems along the length of the East Coast Main Line throughout the day.

A spokesman for the company said a 100-metre section of high voltage cable had failed, causing all signals in the area to turn to red.

He added that Network Rail staff were having to use hand signals to allow rail services to pass through a five-mile stretch of track.

Rush-hour services to suffer

The delays were expected to affect about 100 local and London-bound services - mainly GNER trains - right through the evening rush-hour.

"There are considerable delays to services on the East Coast due to a track and signalling problems," a spokesman said.

"There is a complete signal and points failure - meaning all the signals go to red and all trains have had to stop."

He added that using hand signals to get the trains through was a very slow process and services would have to queue before being allowed through the affected areas at between 5-10 mph.

About 30 Network Rail staff were working at the site to replace the cable and to provide hand signals to get the trains moving.