Disruption between Purley and Gatwick Airport expected until 11:15 

Route(s) affected

Gatwick Express between London Victoria and Brighton

Southern between London Victoria and Ore / Littlehampton / Eastbourne / Portsmouth Harbour

Thameslink between Peterborough and Horsham, between Cambridge and Brighton, between Bedford and Three Bridges / Brighton, and also between London Bridge and Three Bridges

Description

There is a fault on a train between Purley and Gatwick Airport, meaning that the lines towards Gatwick Airport via Redhill are blocked.

As a result, trains running between these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

This is expected to cause disruption until 11:15.

Customer advice:

A train in the Merstham area has developed a fault and is unable to move forward. While this is ongoing, one of the available lines - the 'slow' or stopping line - between Purley and Gatwick Airport is blocked. Trains can continue to run using the remaining available 'fast' line, but this means trains travelling from Purley towards Gatwick Airport will not call at the following stations:

• Coulsdon South

• Merstham

• Redhill

If you require any of these stations, please use services to Gatwick Airport. From Gatwick Airport, you can change and use London bound connections to reach your destination. If you're travelling from these stations, you may need to travel to Purley or East Croydon for connections to Gatwick Airport.

Please allow at least an additional 30 minutes time to complete your journey.

For the latest information, please check our online journey planners and station information boards

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?

There has been a report of a fault on a train, and this is now causing disruption 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, we'll then monitor progress updates and ensure that the railway can be reopened as promptly as possible.

Until the defective train can be moved, we 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. Work will be undertaken with Network Rail's controllers to decide how many more trains can be sent through the area, and if this isn't possible, alternative solutions are available to help you continue your journey.

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.