Disruption to / from Bognor Regis expected until 09:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Bognor Regis and Barnham / Horsham / Brighton / London Victoria

Description

A fault with the signalling system at Bognor Regis means that some lines are blocked. As a result, trains running to / from Bognor Regis may be cancelled or revised to terminate and start back from Barnham.

Disruption 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.

Services that normally run between Bognor Regis and London Victoria will instead terminate and restart at Barnham. This means you will need to use an alternative route to complete your journey if you are travelling to / from Bognor Regis.

Tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on:

• Stagecoach Buses route 700 between Chichester, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton

If you are travelling from Bognor Regis towards London, please use Stagecoach 700 services to Chichester to connect with Southern services towards London Victoria.

If you are travelling to Bognor Regis, please continue travelling to Chichester and then change for a Stagecoach 700 bus service to Bognor Regis there.

Please talk to station staff, look at information boards or check your journey planner for the latest information.

Planning your journey:

You can see a live map of the network here. This will now show where your journey is likely to be delayed.

You can also use the Southern app to get more information about your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A fault with a signal is affecting trains on the route from Bognor Regis.

Signals tell train drivers when it’s safe to continue into the next section of track. The signalling system will show a green light when the track is clear for a long distance ahead, and drivers will then be shown one or two yellow lights to warn them when they are approaching a red signal. This means that they can anticipate the amount of braking that's required to stop before they reach another train or any form of problem on the line.

If a signal develops a fault, it may be unable to show the normal sequence of coloured lights. The signalling system is designed to keep trains safe when this happens, so the affected signal will show a more restrictive indication. Drivers may need to stop and get permission from the signaller before continuing, or travel at a reduced speed through the affected area.

These additional safety measures mean journeys through the area take longer and can cause trains to queue behind one another. In severe cases, services may need to be cancelled, revised or diverted to prevent delays from building up across the wider network.

Network Rail signalling specialists are investigating the fault and will work to repair the affected equipment. Once the fault has been fixed and the signalling system is working normally, trains will be able to run as usual and the scheduled service can begin to recover.

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.