Disruption between Portsmouth Harbour and Fareham / Havant expected until 21:30 

Route(s) affected

Great Western Railway between Portsmouth Harbour and Westbury / Cardiff Central

South Western Railway between Portsmouth Harbour and Guildford / Eastleigh / London Waterloo, and also between Portsmouth & Southsea and Southampton Central

Southern between Portsmouth Harbour and Littlehampton / Brighton / Horsham / Gatwick Airport London Victoria, and also between Portsmouth & Southsea and Brighton

Description

A points failure between Fratton and Havant means that some lines are blocked. As a result, trains running between Portsmouth Harbour and Fareham / Havant may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

Disruption is expected until 21:30.

Great Western Railway customer advice:

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on South Western Railway via any reasonable route.

If your train is cancelled, you may travel on either of the two services before, or two services after, your original train. If these are peak services or less flexible, you can still travel with your original ticket, at no extra cost.

South Western Railway customer advice:

How do I get to my destination?

If you are travelling from Portsmouth to London Waterloo please allow extra time to travel.

If you are travelling from Portsmouth to stations between Havant and Guildford please wait further advice on alternative options.

If you need any help with your journey, please speak to a member of staff or use a station help point.

If you would prefer to use local buses to continue your journey please check Traveline. South Western Railway tickets are not valid on local buses unless stated above.

Southern customer advice:

You may need to use an alternative route to travel and allow extra time to complete your journey.

Please make sure to check journey planners and information boards for the latest service information.

Tickets are being accepted at no extra cost on:

• Alternative Southern services between Brighton, Havant and Southampton Central

• South Western Railway services between Portsmouth Harbour and Cosham

Planning your journey:

You can view live departure boards.

You can see a live map on the network.

You can use an 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 Southern app will also help you plan your journey.

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, progress will be monitored 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 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.