Delays between Barnham and Horsham expected until 12:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Portsmouth Harbour / Bognor Regis and Horsham / London Victoria

Description

A road vehicle has collided with the barriers at a level crossing near Billingshurst, resulting in trains having to run at reduced speed on all lines.

Trains running between Barnham and Horsham may be delayed by up to 30 minutes.

This is expected to cause disruption until 12:00.

Customer advice:

A lorry has collided and caused damage to the barriers at a level crossing near Billingshurst. As a result, trains have to run through the area at lower speeds than normal. Please allow at least an extra 10 minutes to complete your journey.

Please ensure to check before you travel using our online journey planners and live departure boards for the latest information.

Planning your journey:

You can use the live departure boards.

You can view the live map of the network.

You can also see the alternative route guide.

The Southern app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

At 08:38, Southern were told about a road vehicle striking the level crossing barriers near Billingshurst.

We expect this will delay your journey in this area. The level crossing barriers are believed to have been damaged and Network Rail will need to attend to check them.

Barriers contain a number of parts which can be sensitive to being struck by vehicles. They are required to have various different parts, such as red warning lights, and often have metal "skirts" which prevent children and objects from bypassing the barriers.

Also, to reduce the impact of collisions, barriers are often fitted with bolts which will take the force of the impact, and allow the barriers to detach. This means staff may need to reposition the barriers before the crossing can be used normally.

Until the level crossing is assessed, Southern may not be able to run trains through the area. If they can run, this will need to happen at reduced speeds, and only once the track has been confirmed to be clear.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries 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.