Delays between Gatwick Airport and Purley expected until 20:00 

Route(s) affected

Gatwick Express between Brighton and London Victoria

Southern between Ore / Eastbourne / Portsmouth Harbour / Littlehampton / Bognor Regis and London Victoria, and also between Gatwick Airport and Redhill

Thameslink between Brighton and Cambridge, between Three Bridges and Luton / Bedford, between Gatwick Airport and Bedford, and also between Horsham and Peterborough

Description

There is a safety inspection of the track between Gatwick Airport and Purley, meaning that trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards Purley.

As a result, trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 15 minutes.

This is expected to cause disruption until 20:00.

Customer advice:

You can travel on your normal route, but you will need to allow up to an additional 15 minutes to complete your journey.

The delays are affecting services that run from Gatwick Airport to East Croydon.

Services running in the opposite direction towards Gatwick Airport, or those that stop at stations between Gatwick Airport and East Croydon, are not being affected.

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

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?

Network Rail is carrying out a safety inspection of the track in the Salfords area following a report of a possible problem on the track.

When a possible fault is reportedor detected by track-monitoring equipment, railway safety rules require train drivers to reduce their speed through the affected area until the track has been inspected. This allows trains to continue running safely while specialist teams investigate.

Because trains are travelling at slower speeds, they may begin to queue behind one another. In severe cases, some services may need to be cancelled or revised to prevent delays from building up across the wider network.

Once the safety inspection has been completed, Network Rail will decide whether any further work is needed or if it's safe for trains to run at normal speeds.

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.