Disruption to / from Portsmouth Harbour expected until 17:00 

Route(s) affected

Great Western Railway services between Portsmouth Harbour and Cardiff Central

South Western Railway services between Portsmouth Harbour and London Waterloo

Southern services between Portsmouth Harbour and Horsham / London Victoria

Description

A fault with the signalling system in the Portsmouth Harbour area means all lines are disrupted. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 15 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 17:00.

South Western Railway customer advice:

If you need any help with your journey, please speak to a member of staff or use a station help point.

Southern customer advice:

Southern services that run between London Victoria and Portsmouth Harbour will run between London Victoria and Portsmouth & Southsea only.

If you are planning to travel to/from Portsmouth Harbour using Southern services you will need to use an alternative route.

Ad-hoc alterations to services are possible, meaning your train may not stop at some advertised stations or will be started / terminated at a different station than planned.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on alternative Southern services via any reasonable route, and South Western Railway services between Fratton and Portsmouth Harbour.

If you are required to change trains partway through your journey to allow extra time for your journey, we'd recommend at least 10 minutes.

Live departure boards and journey planners are being kept updated with the latest service information, so please remember to check these before travelling.

Planning your journey:

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

You can also view an alternative route guide.

You can use the Southern app to find up-to-date information.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Trains may be experience delays and alterations in the Portsmouth area. The signal is stuck on red, so drivers must stop and get verbal permission to continue, making journeys longer.

Railway signals warn drivers when they need to stop. Normally, a green light means the track is clear, while yellow signals warn of a red light ahead, helping drivers slow down safely.

Signalling follows "fail-safe" principles. If a signal cannot change properly, it defaults to red, even if the track is clear. This causes delays as trains must wait for instructions.

Network Rail maintains the system, and Southern are working with them to fix the issue as quickly as possible. In the meantime, staff are monitoring services and doing their best to keep trains running.

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.