Disruption between Haywards Heath and Hove expected until 15:30 

Route(s) affected

Between London Victoria and Littlehampton

Description

A fault with the signalling system between Haywards Heath and Hove means that all lines are blocked. As a result, trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes, revised or diverted.

Disruption is expected until 15:30.

Customer advice:

You may need to use an alternative route to travel and allow at least 30 minutes more time to complete your journey.

Trains cannot run directly between Preston Park and Hove but they will continue to run to and from Brighton.

Where possible, services that normally run between London Victoria and Littlehampton will divert via Horsham.

If you are travelling to a station between Three Bridges and Brighton, please change at Three Bridges for an alternative Thameslink or Southern service towards your destination.

If you are travelling to a station between Brighton and Angmering, please continue your journey to Brighton and then change there for an alternative Southern train towards your destination.

Trains towards Littlehampton will continue to run from Three Bridges.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on:

• Southern services between Gatwick Airport, Brighton and Chichester

• Thameslink services between Gatwick Airport and Brighton

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?

Track circuits are part of the signalling system and are used to detect where trains are on the railway. If one fails, the signalling system may show that a section of track is occupied even when there isn’t a train there. This means signals protecting that section will remain at red and trains cannot proceed normally.

Trains may still be able to run, but drivers will need to stop before the affected section and request verbal permission from the signaller before continuing past the red signal. They must then travel at a reduced speed so they can stop safely should they see anything ahead of them.

This takes longer than usual and can cause trains to queue behind one another. In severe cases, services may need to be cancelled, revised or diverted to prevent delays from building up across the wider network.

Network Rail signalling specialists are investigating the fault and will work to repair the affected equipment. Once the fault has been fixed and the signalling system is working normally, trains will be able to run at normal speeds again and the scheduled service can begin to recover.

Ticket flexibility:

If your train is cancelled, you will be able to travel on an alternative service operated by any other participating train company, either two hours before or two hours after the original departure time of the cancelled service, in order to reach your destination.

If you decide not to travel or cannot complete your journey due to cancellations, you are entitled to a full refund from your original point of sale.

For further information and guidance please contact your train company or speak to a member of railway staff.

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.