Disruption between New Cross Gate and Crystal Palace / Norwood Junction expected until 12:00 

Route(s) affected

London Overground between Highbury & Islington and Crystal Palace / West Croydon

Southern between London Bridge and Epsom / Norwood Junction / Caterham / Uckfield / Bognor Regis / Eastbourne

Thameslink between Bedford and Three Bridges / East Grinstead / Haywards Heath / Brighton, between Cambridge and Brighton, and also between Peterborough and Horsham

Description

A fault with the signalling system between New Cross Gate and Crystal Palace / Norwood Junction means trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 12:00.

London Overground customer advice:

Tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on London Buses via any reasonable route.

Southern and Thameslink customer advice:

Disruption is expected, due to a signalling fault near Sydenham. This is affecting Southbound trains. There is also an ill passenger on a train in the New Cross Gate area which is causing some added congestion.

If you are looking to travel or are currently travelling you will experience some delays. Please allow at least an additional 30 minutes time to complete your journey

For the latest information, please check online journey planners and live departure boards or speak to station staff.

If you're waiting on a train which is delayed between stations:

If your train is delayed between stations, please remain where you are and listen to announcements, or speak to staff for further information.

Please don't leave the train unless you are asked to do so. Other trains may still be moving in the area, and the track is also a very hazardous environment. In areas where the trains are powered by an electric third rail, this usually stays live and dangerous during incidents, and looks the same as other rails

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 track circuit failure is disrupting trains which travel from New Cross Gate to Norwood Junction.

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 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.