Chaos as services are diverted or cancelled

The crash at Potters Bar threatens to throw the rail network into a new period of chaos and delay.

Last night queues of more than 300 people snaked round the concourse at King's Cross station, which was also severely affected by the Hatfield crash in 2000.

Within minutes of the crash cancellations, delays and diversions were in place on long distance as well as local services. Dozens of services that use the line through Potters Bar – the main artery to Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh, as well as local services – were cancelled or being diverted around the Hertford Loop. The loop will be unable to carry all the traffic but last night Railtrack was unable to say what level of service will be provided.

It will be unable to move the train or start repairs to the tracks on the four lines through Potters Bar until the police complete their investigation of the site, meaning extreme delays until next week at the earliest.

The Hatfield disaster led to months of delays and a virtual collapse of the network.

At King's Cross the grim reality behind the tragedy was already being felt. Electronic signs gave details of the time and place of the accident and read: "All lines have been blocked and emergency services and Railtrack staff are on site. The cause is not yet known and an investigation is under way.''

Railtrack staff, made easily visible in blue jackets, found themselves surrounded by people seeking information about their services. Extra British Transport police were drafted in to keep watch over the crowds struggling to make their Friday night getaway, but passengers were mostly philosophical, although uneasy about the safety of the network.

John Traynor, jumping on to the packed 17.50 service to Peterborough after a 30-minute wait, said accidents on railways caused hysteria out of proportion to the dangers. "People get excited about train travel. If there is a road accident nobody sees anything out of the ordinary. but when there is a train crash everybody gets very excited,'' he said.

Jevan Green and Julia Procter, whose journey into King's Cross from Cambridge took 90 minutes rather than the normal 45 minutes, said the crash had made them worried about using the train. Mr Green, a 28-year-old web designer, said: "It was so close to Hatfield that it does make you wonder whether the lines really are safe. I used to commute to London every day and I'm glad I don't have to do it any more.

"After they took all that time checking the track and made services go slow for so long they must surely have made the track safe. If they haven't I don't think we'll believe them about anything again. We just have to hope this was a freak accident.''

Paul Bryant, an engineer waiting for the 17.50 to Leeds, said if there was an alternative to train travel he would use it because he was not convinced the network was safe. "In the last five years there have been five crashes so it does raise a degree of insecurity. People say cars are more dangerous but it doesn't feel like that,'' he said.

Rafi Malik, 40, returning to Peterborough after a business trip to London, said: "I've been here quite a while but it's what you would expect after an accident. I don't feel uneasy about the trains. Accidents can happen whether you're in a train, car or plane."