Delays between Horsham and Gatwick Airport expected until 20:00 

Route(s) affected

Southern between Portsmouth Harbour / Bognor Regis and London Victoria

Thameslink between Horsham and Peterborough

Description

A fault with the signalling system between Horsham and Gatwick Airport means trains have to run at a reduced speed on some lines. Trains may be delayed by up to 10 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 20:00.

Customer Advice:

If you are travelling towards Gatwick Airport, you can continue to use your planned route, however we recommend allowing at least 15 minutes more time to arrive at your destination.

Some services that normally run from Bedford to Three Bridges may terminate at Gatwick Airport instead.

If you are travelling to Three Bridges, please change for an alternative Thameslink or Southern service at Gatwick Airport.

Ticket Acceptance:

Your ticket will be valid at no extra cost on:

• Alternative Thameslink and Southern services on any reasonable route towards your destination

• Metrobus services on routes:

  • 3 for Gatwick, Three Bridges, Crawley

  • 10 for Crawley and Gatwick Airport

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

  • 271 for Crawley, Haywards Heath, Wivelsfield, Burgess Hill, Hassocks, Preston Park, Brighton

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

  • 273 for Crawley, Hassocks, Preston Park and Brighton (Fastest bus to Brighton)

  • 291 for Crawley, Three Bridges, East Grinstead

  • 400 for Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley, Gatwick, Crawley, Three Bridges

  • 420 for Reigate, Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Gatwick, Crawley

  • 460 for Reigate, Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley, Gatwick, Crawley

Planning your journey:

Please check journey planners and station information boards before you travel, and allow extra time to reach your destination.

You can use live departure boards and the live map to see if your journey has been affected.

You can also use Southern's app to find up-to-date travel information.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

In this particular situation, the fault has been confirmed as a 'Track Circuit Failure'. This means the signalling system is unable to automatically verify if the next section of the track past the affected signal is clear.

The rail network is designed so that if a signal stops working, trains will stop before they reach it. Whilst this issue is ongoing, the train crew will stop at the affected signal and contact the signalling centre to confirm their location. At this point, the signaller will verbally authorise the driver to continue towards the next signal. This process adds time to every train's journey, which means services can experience some delays.

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.