London travel news LIVE: Tower Bridge ‘stuck open’ due to ‘technical problems’ sparking rush-hour disruption

Motorists were facing severe delays through central London on Tuesday morning after Tower Bridge was left stuck open due to “technical problems”.

The fault on the world-famous bridge caused the road to be blocked between Tower Hill and Queen Elizabeth Street, with congestion through to Limehouse and Aldgate.

The bridge was left stuck open after a 6am lift for a cruise ship, according to traffic monitoring sites.

Separately, a broken rail in the Finsbury Park area is disrupting morning rush-hour trains into London.

National Rail is warning that services between Stevenage and London Kings Cross/Moorgate may be cancelled or delayed by up to 30 minutes.

Thameslink, Lumo and LNER are among the operators affected by the problem.

The disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Meanwhile a problem with an engineering train between London Blackfriars and London St Pancras International means that some lines are currently closed.

Follow the latest updates below…

Severe delays continue after Tower Bridge left stuck open

07:50 , Josh Salisbury

Severe delays are continuing in the area of Tower Bridge after it was left stuck open for an hour-and-a-half on Tuesday morning.

It had forced the bridge to close both ways between Tower Hill and Queen Elizabeth Street.

There remains congestion to Limehouse back along The Highway, and Aldgate back through the one-way system.

Northbound queues are also reported from the A2 Bricklayers Arms, with diversions towards Borough for London Bridge.

Tower Bridge left stuck open after 6am cruise ship lift

07:38 , Josh Salisbury

Tower Bridge was left stuck open on Tuesday morning after a faulty lift for a cruise ship, causing traffic chaos.

The bridge was left stuck open for around an hour due to “technical problems”, forcing the road to close between Tower Hill and Queen Elizabeth Street.

The fault caused severe delays in the area, with congestion building up in Limehouse and Aldgate.

The bridge appeared to have closed by 7.30am, but delays remained.

More rail disruption

06:58 , Michael Howie

National Rail has warned a problem with an engineering train has blocked some lined between London Blackfriars and London St Pancras International.

In a report issued at 6.22am, it said trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised as a result.

The disruption was expected to continue until 8am.

Broken rail causing issues

06:56

A broken rail in the Finsbury Park area means that trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.

As a result, trains between Stevenage and London Kings Cross/Moorgate may be cancelled or delayed by up to 30 minutes., according to National Rail.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Passengers on Great Northern and Thameslink trains are being warned that journeys between Moorgate and Hertford North may take up to 30 minutes longer than usual.

Trains may be cancelled from Peterborough towards London King’s Cross and between Moorgate and Gordon Hill/Hertford North.

Good morning

06:52 , Michael Howie

Welcome to the Standard’s coverage of travel news on Tuesday.

We’ll bring you the major developments as thousands of commuters head into London this morning rush-hour.