Lines have reopened between London Bridge and New Cross Gate: disruption expected until 16:00 

Route(s) affected

Between London Bridge and London Victoria / Epsom / Caterham / Uckfield

Description

Lines have reopened following a fault on a train between London Bridge and New Cross Gate. Services running between these stations may still be delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised whilst service recovers.

Disruption is expected until 16:00.

Customer advice:

Services that run to / from London Bridge have been disrupted due to this issue.

While all lines are now open, services may still be delayed, or run on a different line to normal. Some trains which usually run via Tulse Hill may run via Forest Hill instead.

While you should be able to travel using your normal route, it may be quicker to use an alternative route. Your ticket will be accepted on the below, at no extra cost, to allow you to do so:

• Alternative Thameslink and Southern services to / from London Bridge or London Victoria

• London Trams between Beckenham Junction and East Croydon

• London Underground services between London terminals

• Southeastern services between Beckenham Junction and East Croydon

If you do travel using an alternative route, you may need to leave up to 20 minutes extra to complete your journey.

If you're travelling now, you should listen to announcements and check station screens for the latest travel updates and advice.

Planning your journey:

You can see live departure boards, a live map of the Southern network and 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.

The Southern app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

There was a report of a fault on a train which caused delays to other services travelling through this area.

Normally, when a fault on a train occurs, crews will gather details and report this to the fleet teams. If possible, the defect will be fixed promptly, and the train will get on the way. These initial steps are designed to take around 10 minutes.

However, sometimes the fault cannot be fixed in this time frame. In this case, wherever possible, the train will be taken out of use and sent to a depot. This does take additional time, as the crew will need to make sure that everyone's managed to leave the train.

If this can't be done either, specialist engineers will be sent to site, known as "fitters". Fitters are based in key locations around the network, 24 hours a day, and they are able to attend anywhere on routes. Once they are on site, progress updates will then be monitored to ensure that the railway can be reopened as promptly as possible.

Until the defective train can be moved, operators will try to find a way to get other trains around the issue. This depends how many lines are available, and whether the signalling equipment is set up to allow trains to be routed around the problem. This is more often the case on major routes, but not always. Southern work with Network Rail's controllers to decide how many more trains can be sent through the area, and if this isn't possible, they will see what alternative solutions are available to help you continue your journey.

The incident train has now moved, and lines are expected to reopen shortly.

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.