Disruption at Gatwick Airport expected until 21:00 

Route(s) affected

Trains at Gatwick Airport

Description

A points failure at Gatwick Airport means some lines are disrupted. As a result, trains through this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 21:00.

Customer advice:

Services are able to resume running between Gatwick Airport and Three Bridges. Residual disruption, including significant delays, as well as ad-hoc alterations and cancellations, will continue to affect journeys.

You should leave a minimum of 45 minutes extra to complete your journey this evening, and be prepared to travel on a different train to normal.

Ticket acceptance

While service is recovering, your ticket will continue to be accepted on the below at no additional cost:

• London Buses route 405 Redhill, Merstham, Coulsdon South, Coulsdon Town, Reedham, Purley, South Croydon, and East Croydon

• Metrobus routes:

  • 4 / 5 Gatwick Airport, Crawley, Three Bridges

  • 20 Crawley, Three Bridges, Gatwick Airport, Horley

  • 100 Three Bridges, Crawley, Gatwick Airport, Horley, Salfords, Earlswood, Redhill

  • 270 Brighton, Preston Park, Hassocks, Burgess Hill, Wivelsfield, Haywards Heath, East Grinstead

  • 272 Brighton, Preston Park, Hassocks, Burgess Hill, Wivelsfield, Haywards Heath, Three Bridges, Crawley

It is advised to delay travel until later if you do not need to travel now. If you are travelling now, you will need to use alternate routes and allow an additional 45 minutes to complete your journey.

Planning your journey:

You can see a live map of the network. This will now show where your journey is likely to be delayed.

You can also use the Southern or Thameslink app to get more information about 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 that guide trains from one route to another at junctions. If they develop a fault, for example because something is obstructing the moving parts or there is a problem with the electronic control system, they may not move into the correct position. The signalling system may also be unable to confirm that they are safely positioned.

For safety, trains cannot travel over points unless they are correctly positioned and secured. In some cases, the points can be secured in one position, allowing trains to continue using some routes through the junction while others remain unavailable.

Network Rail signalling specialists are investigating the fault and will work to repair the affected equipment. Depending on the cause, this may involve removing an obstruction, repairing the equipment or replacing faulty parts.

Staff may sometimes need access to the track while the fault is investigated or repaired. Trains may need to be stopped for a short time while this happens, which means your train could be held at a station or signal even if its usual route through the area remains available.

Some faults can be resolved relatively quickly, while others may require replacement parts or specialist advice. This means it may not always be possible to confirm straight away how long the disruption will last.

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.