Disruption between Angmering and Littlehampton expected until 09:00 

Route(s) affected

between Angmering and Littlehampton

Description

A points failure between Angmering and Littlehampton means some lines are blocked. As a result, trains between these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

This is expected until 09:00.

Customer advice:

You may need to use an alternative route to complete your journey and allow at least 20 minutes more time to travel.

How the service will be affected:

Trains running in the direction towards Portsmouth and Southampton are being diverted to run via Littlehampton, which is causing delays of at least 15 minutes.

Some services running in the opposite direction towards Brighton and Horsham may also be affected.

As more trains than usual will be stopping at Littlehampton and the capacity for trains on this route is limited, services have been altered as follows:

• Services that normally run between Chichester and Littlehampton or London Victoria and Littlehampton will continue to run on the scheduled route, but may be delayed

• Services that normally run between Barnham and Bognor Regis have been suspended

• Services that normally run between London Victoria and Bognor Regis will not split from the Littlehampton service at Horsham and run as one train from Horsham to Littlehampton, then to Barnham, where the service terminates

If you are travelling between Bognor Regis and Barnham, please use Stagecoach route 500 and 700 to connect to alternative train services at Barnham.

• Services that normally run between Portsmouth Harbour and Brighton will be suspended.

Southern services between London Victoria and Portsmouth Harbour continue to run and you can change at Barnham to connect to these services.

• Services that normally run between Southampton Central and Brighton will terminate and restart at Barnham

For journeys towards Brighton, please change at Barnham for alternative Southern trains towards your destination.

Please make sure to check journey planner or information boards for the latest information, or speak to staff for further assistance.

Tickets will be accepted at no additional cost on:

• Alternative Southern services between Horsham / Brighton and Littlehampton / Bognor Regis / Portsmouth Harbour

• South Western Railway services between Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton Central

• Great Western Railway services between Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton Central

• Stagecoach route 500 between Littlehampton, Barnham and Chichester

• Stagecoach route 700 between Littlehampton, Bognor Regis and Chichester

Planning your journey:

For help planning your journey, check live departure boards, view a live network map or see alternative route guides.

If you’re travelling within London, you can use the TfL Journey Planner.

Stay up to date on the move with Southern’s WhatsApp channel. Live updates are available Monday to Friday, 07:00–21:00.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A points failure has been reported, and this is preventing trains from using some of the routes through this area.

Points are moveable sections of track which can send trains onto different routes at junctions. These are part of the signalling system, generally managed by Network Rail.

Points can stop moving correctly for a number of reasons. For example, there may be an obstruction in the moving parts, or the electronic control systems may have developed a fault.

There are various backup systems which allow signallers to try to "set" the points, and in some cases, the points may be available for trains in one of the directions they serve, but not another. However, with more severe failures, the line in question may be blocked entirely.

Network Rail will send their specialist Signalling & Telecoms teams to site, and they will set up a safe method of working on the track. To allow staff to access the railway, sometimes we have to stop trains completely, which can lead to your train being held at stations or signals en route.

As soon as it's safe to go on the line, the staff will diagnose the fault and find any quick solutions to resolve it.

Whilst this is being done, we will be monitoring progress closely. At times, replacement parts may be needed, or specialist advice from suppliers, which is why some points failures take longer to resolve than others.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail real-time Journey Planner.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.