Disruption between Purley and Gatwick Airport expected until 11:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Purley and Gatwick Airport

Description

A broken down train between Purley and Gatwick Airport means some lines are blocked. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 40 minutes or revised.

This is expected until 11:00.

Customer advice:

If you are travelling now, you may need to change trains to complete your journey. Services running towards Gatwick Airport are also being delayed by 10 - 15 minutes. However as you may need to change trains to complete your journey, we recommend leaving at least 30 minutes more time to travel.

If you are travelling between Gatwick Airport and London, it is strongly recommend using Thameslink services as Gatwick Express services will not run.

You can travel between London Bridge/ London Blackfriars and London Victoria using London Underground services at no extra cost.

Southern services running to/from London Victoria are expected to be very busy. Where possible, we recommend travelling via London Bridge instead.

How the service is being altered:

Gatwick Express services between London Victoria and Brighton have been suspended.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on alternative Southern and Thameslink services between London and Brighton.

• Southern peak services that run between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport have been suspended

• Thameslink services that run between Bedford and Three Bridges have been suspended. You can use your ticket at no extra cost on alternative Southern and Thameslink services between Bedford and Three Bridges

• Southern services that run between London Victoria and Littlehampton will make additional stops at Three Bridge

Ticket acceptance

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on:

• Southern services between London Victoria, Brighton and the coast

• Thameslink services between Bedford and Brighton

• London Underground services between London terminals

Planning your journey:

You can use live departure boards, and a live map of the network.

You can 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 here.

The app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Unfortunately, a freight service has developed a fault. The nature of the issue means it can't move, so it's blocking the line through this area towards Gatwick Airport.

It's likely that in this case, specialist engineers need to be sent to site, known as "fitters". Fitters are based in key locations around the network, 24 hours a day, and they are able to attend anywhere on our routes. Once they are on site, we'll then monitor progress updates and ensure that the railway can be reopened as promptly as possible.

Another train may also need to be sent to tow the defective one away. This procedure, known as arranging a rescue train, will be done as quickly as possible, usually by sending a similar type of train to attach. The combined train will be taken out of use and sent to a depot.

Until the defective train can be moved, we will try to find a way to get other trains around the issue. This depends how many lines are available, and whether the signalling equipment is set up to allow trains to be routed around the problem. This is more often the case on our major routes, but not always. Network Rail's controllers will decide how many more trains can be sent through the area, and if this isn't possible, we'll see what alternative solutions are available to help you continue your journey.

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.