Delays between Brighton and Haywards Heath expected until 16:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Brighton and Haywards Heath

Description

A speed restriction over defective track between Brighton and Haywards Heath means that trains between these stations will have to run at a reduced speed. As a result, services may be delayed by up to 15 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 16:00.

Customer advice:

If you are travelling towards Gatwick Airport or London from Brighton or Littlehampton, you can use your normal route, but please allow an extra 15 minutes to complete your journey.

Services are running at a reduced speed after leaving Hassocks while Network Rail engineers inspect a potential track defect.

Ticket acceptance:

To help you complete your journey, you can use your existing ticket at no extra cost on the following alternatives:

• Southern services via any reasonable route in the area

• Thameslink services between Brighton and London

• Gatwick Express services between Brighton, Gatwick Airport, and London Victoria

• London Underground between London terminals

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?

Network Rail has been notified of a potential defect with the track between Hassocks and Burgess Hill on the London-bound line.

When a possible fault is reported by a driver or detected by track-monitoring equipment, strict railway safety rules require train drivers to reduce their speed through the affected section until specialist maintenance teams carry out a physical inspection.

Running at slower speeds prevents damage to trains and track equipment, but reduces capacity and causes congestion on this busy stretch of the Brighton Main Line.

Network Rail response engineers are attending the site to inspect the rails and confirm whether any repairs are needed before normal line speeds can be safely restored.

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.