Disruption through Rochester expected until 14:30 

Route(s) affected

Southeastern between London Victoria and Gillingham (Kent) / Ramsgate / Dover Priory, and also between London St Pancras International and Faversham / Ramsgate

Thameslink between Luton and Rainham (Kent)

Description

A fault with the signalling system at Rochester is causing disruption to trains running through this station. As a result, trains may be delayed by up to 40 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 14:30.

Southeastern customer advice:

What's happened?

A fault with the signalling system has been reported at Rochester. Currently the line from Sole Street towards Rochester, and the line from Rochester towards Strood, are unavailable.

Response staff are on site at Rochester. They will be manually operating a set of points to allow a train to proceed from Rochester to Strood; once this has departed, the points will be operated again to allow services to run in both directions via Sole Street. This will block any trains running between Rochester and Strood.

How does this affect my journey?

Trains are currently unable to run from Sole Street towards Rochester, or from Rochester towards Strood. This affects services from London Victoria to Ramsgate / Dover, services from Faversham / Ramsgate to London St Pancras International, and Thameslink services from Rainham (Kent) to Luton.

What should I do?

Please check before you travel, and allow extra time for your journey.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on:

• Arriva Bus route 190 between Gravesend and Gillingham (Kent)

• Fastrack route B between Ebbsfleet International and Gravesend

• Stagecoach services X3, 12 and 15 between Faversham and Dover

• London Underground services between Southeastern London Terminals

Alternative routes:

For details of alternative routes that may be available to complete your journey, please refer to our Alternative routes during disruption maps.

How can I stay up to date?

You can follow Southeastern on Twitter (X) @SE_Railway or follow the Southeastern WhatsApp channel.

Thameslink customer advice:

No Thameslink trains can run between Rainham and Strood until further notice. You will need to use an alternative route to reach your destination.

You should allow at least an additional 40 minutes to complete your journey today.

Please talk to station staff, look at the information boards or check your journey planner for the most recent information.

How do I get between Rainham and Strood?

If you are travelling between these stations you should use an alternative Southeastern service towards your destination.

Can I use my ticket with another operator?

You can travel on the following services at no additional cost;

• Thameslink services between Rainham and London Bridge

• Southeastern between Rainham and London Bridge

• Arriva Buses route 190 between Gillingham and Gravesend

Please be aware that using alternative travel will add at least 30 minutes to your journey depending on the route.

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 Thameslink's WhatsApp channel. Live updates are available Monday to Friday, 07:00–21:00.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Axle counters are part of the signalling system and are used to detect where trains are on the railway. They count train wheels as they enter and leave a section of track, allowing the signalling system to confirm when that section is clear.

If an axle counter fails, the signalling system may show that a train is still in the area even when the section of track is clear. This means the 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 get permission from the signaller before passing the red signal. They must then travel at a reduced speed so they can stop safely if 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.