Disruption between Brighton and Worthing expected until 22:45 

Route(s) affected

Between London Victoria and Littlehampton / Bognor Regis, and between Haywards Heath and Worthing, and also between Brighton and West Worthing / Bognor Regis / Havant / Portsmouth Harbour / Southampton Central

Description

A fault with the signalling system between Hove and Worthing means all lines are blocked. Trains between Brighton and Worthing may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 22:45.

Customer advice:

At present, no trains can run between Hove and Worthing in either direction and you will need to use an alternative route if you are travelling through this area.

You will be able to use an alternative route to continue your journey, but your overall travel time could be extended by up to 60 minutes.

Southern services which run on the below routes will be affected:

• London Victoria to Littlehampton (via Hove)

• Brighton to Chichester

• Brighton to Portsmouth & Southsea / Southampton Central

If you're waiting on a train which is delayed between stations:

If your train is delayed between stations, please stay on board and listen for updates. You can also ask staff if you need more information. Southern know where you are and are working to get you moving as soon as possible.

For your safety, please don’t leave the train unless instructed. Other trains may still be running, and the tracks can be very dangerous. If the area has an electric third rail, it stays live even during delays and looks just like the other rails.

Changes to services:

When Southern know more about changes to trains in this area, they'll update this part of their advice, so you can see how your train may be altered.

Ticket acceptance on alternative routes:

If needed, Southern will be working with other public transport companies to make sure that your ticket will be accepted on alternative routes.

If you can use another option for your journey, Southern will let you know the details here.

Planning your journey:

Live departure boards can be viewed, as well as 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. You can also use the Southern app to find up-to-date information.

Can you tell me more about this incident?

A complete signalling failure in this area is causing severe disruption to train services. The affected signals are showing only red lights, meaning trains cannot move forward on any line. Right now, Southern are unable to provide a train service.

Because of the scale of the issue, it’s difficult to estimate delays. Southern are working closely with Network Rail, whose teams are investigating the problem as quickly as possible.

Signalling failures can happen for various reasons, such as power issues, cable faults, or extreme weather. In some cases, multiple faults contribute to the disruption. Since this type of failure is a high priority, repairs will begin as soon as possible, and we’ll share updates when we have more information.

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.