Disruption between Clapham Junction and Shepherds Bush expected until 19:00  

Route(s) affected

London Overground between Clapham Junction and Stratford (London)

Southern between East Croydon and Watford Junction

Description

A fault with the signalling system between Clapham Junction and Shepherds Bush means that trains trains have to run at a reduced speed on all lines. As a result, trains running between these station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes, revised or diverted.

Disruption is expected until 19:00.

London Overground customer advice:

You may use your ticket on London Buses and London Underground services via any reasonable route at no extra cost.

Southern customer advice:

If you are travelling between Clapham Junction and Shepherds Bush you can travel on your normal route, but you will need to allow up to an additional 15 minutes to complete your journey

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

Planning your journey:

You can see live departure boards.

You can view a live map of the network.

You can also see the alternative route guide.

If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner.

The app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

This part of the network uses track circuits to detect the position of trains. These are electrical systems which monitor whether a train is on a section of track. They operate as part of the signalling system, which is designed to be "fail safe".

When a track circuit fails, the signalling system will interpret this as a train remaining in place, even though there may not be a train present at all, or the previous service may have long since left the area.

As a result, further trains cannot be automatically allowed onto the relevant section of track. Train drivers will be stopped by red signals on approach. They will then get verbal permission from the signaller so that they can proceed, and will run at a heavily-reduced speed as far as the next signal. This is so that the drivers will stop safely if they see anything ahead of them.

In some areas, the sections between signals can be several miles long, so this can result in delays building up. Even with shorter sections of track affected, there would still be a delay of at least a few minutes to each journey.

Track circuit faults can be caused by a number of different issues, including electronic faults or obstructions on the track. Network Rail manage the signalling system, including track circuits, and their staff will be investigating as quickly as possible.

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.