Disruption to Southern and Thameslink services at Gatwick Airport expected until 22:00 

Route(s) affected

To / from Gatwick Airport

Description

There is a points failure at Gatwick Airport meaning some lines are disrupted. As a result, Southern and Thameslink services running through this station may be delayed by up to 15 minutes.

This is expected until 22:00.

Customer advice:

You can continue to use your planned route to travel, however we recommend leaving up to 15 minutes more time 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 check your journey using the Live Departure Boards, and you can view a live map of the network.

You can also see 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.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A points failure has been reported, and this is preventing trains from travelling through two platforms at Gatwick Airport.

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.

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 trains on other routes also being held at stations or signals.

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, we will be monitoring progress 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.