The Welwyn Garden Gap

I had the misfortune of witnessing the WGG first hand last night. To those who do not know what this is, it probably means you've not had the misfortune of being held up by it. It's not a rogue band of Hertfordshire-based bandits. It's a stretch of the Great North Eastern railway line, which runs from roughly four (or is it six?) train lines down to two.

The only time that the WGG gains notoriety is when a train gets stuck in the gap heading North-bound. What does that mean? It means everything behind heading North will be delayed....

This is what happened last night to me and many others. It doesn't just affect those heading North-bound too. It has an effect on the return leg, which runs simultaneously too.

Question: can Rail Track or First Capital Connect provide some sort of emergencyshunting service in order to cater for this type of event or indeed a service which is on emergency stand by as last week my train stopped at Royston and didn't get any further. But this is another story altogether...