Train journeys from London King’s Cross will be more crowded than usual this evening after a quarter of Thameslink services were halted due to flooding.

A quarter of normal evening peak services have been suspended after a water main burst between Farringdon and St Pancras International in central London.

The water is currently around 16 inches deep.

Some trains are continuing to run safely through the tunnel as Network Rail pumps water in a bid to maintain it at a steady depth but there are major delays and the service has had to be significantly thinned out.

It is understood that water company engineers need to isolate the leak without cutting off essential supplies to a nearby hospital.

Even if leak is repaired soon, there will be a major knock-on impact on this evening’s services.

Thameslink will now run hourly services from Luton via the Wimbledon/Sutton Loop back to St Albans, from St Albans via the Wimbledon/Sutton Loop back to Luton and Sevenoaks-bound Thameslink services will start and terminate at London Blackfriars.

Passengers are being urged to travel on Great Northern routes and then catch the rail replacement buses from Welwyn Garden City to St Albans or Hitchin to Luton and Luton Airport Parkway.

Alternatively, passengers can get an East Midlands Trains to Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and Bedford.

Thameslink’s passenger service director Stuart Cheshire said: “We’ll do our very best to get people home tonight as quickly as possible but the burst water main is causing significant disruption.

“We’ve brought in buses and extra staff and we’re pushing out messages through all available means to encourage people to start home earlier if possible and to leave longer for their journeys.

“Passengers can claim compensation for the delays via our website thameslinkrailway.com/delayrepay.”

More details on the disruption can be found at www.thameslinkrailway.com.