Harlesden track fault spreads severe delays down the whole Bakerloo line

A faulty track at Harlesden is now causing severe delays along the whole Bakerloo line, hours after it closed the stretch between Queen's Park and Harrow & Wealdstone, TfL's record showed on Friday 14 August 2026.

The entry reads: "Bakerloo Line: No service between Queen's Park and Harrow & Wealdstone and SEVERE DELAYS on the rest of the line while we fix a faulty track at Harlesden. Tickets are being accepted on London Northwestern Railway and London Buses."

That is worse than earlier in the day. The Smoke reported this afternoon that the same entry carried minor delays on the rest of the line, with the closure confined to the northern section.

TfL's delay records for the Bakerloo and Lioness run to 00:29 on Saturday. Its separate Bakerloo suspension period had advanced to 00:16 in the final check.

These moving status periods are not repair estimates. Neither entry says when TfL will fix the track.

The Lioness section reopened during this re-check. After briefly showing good service, TfL's final record reported severe delays between Watford Junction and Willesden Junction and minor delays elsewhere.

TfL attributes both to the earlier Harlesden fault and accepts tickets on London Underground.

TfL's station record for Harlesden lists the Bakerloo and Lioness and no other rail line. The Smoke reported earlier today that Harlesden, Stonebridge Park and North Wembley had no trains while both lines were closed. The Lioness reopening restored service at all three.

Four other lines carried severe delays in TfL's final Friday check. Lioness had joined that group after reopening, while Windrush had dropped out.

On the Central, TfL reports them "between North Acton and Ealing Broadway / West Ruislip and between Leytonstone and Epping / Newbury Park due to an earlier track fault at Stratford and train cancellations". The rest of the line has minor delays.

The Elizabeth line's Heathrow closure has ended for a second time. TfL's later entry names severe delays but no no-service section.

It reports severe delays "between Whitechapel and Abbey Wood / Heathrow Terminals / Reading", with minor delays elsewhere. TfL still directs Heathrow passengers to the Piccadilly line and accepts Elizabeth tickets on eleven other services.

The Piccadilly itself has severe delays, which TfL puts down to an earlier customer incident. London Buses and Great Northern accept tickets.

Windrush's record also moved. TfL now reports good service outside the Sydenham–West Croydon suspension for a signal failure at West Croydon.

The earlier severe-delay entry between Highbury & Islington and Dalston Junction no longer appears. London Underground accepts tickets by any reasonable route.

For a passenger on the Bakerloo tonight, the practical change is that the delays no longer stop at the closed section. The line runs from Harrow & Wealdstone through central London to Elephant & Castle, and TfL's entry puts severe delays on all of it outside the closure.

Passengers at Harlesden, Stonebridge Park and North Wembley again have Lioness trains, though TfL reports severe delays.