Disruption between Streatham Common and Selhurst expected until 12:00 

Route(s) affected

Between Watford Junction and East Croydon, and between London Bridge and Selhurst / East Croydon, and also between London Victoria and Selhurst / Sutton / Epsom Downs / Reigate / East Grinstead / Littlehampton / Bognor Regis / Portsmouth Harbour / Eastbourne / Hastings / Ore

Description

A fault with the signalling system between Streatham Common and Selhurst means that fewer trains are able to run on all lines. As a result, trains running between these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 10 minutes or revised.

This is expected until 12:00.

Customer advice:

If you are travelling between London Bridge and East Croydon, you may need to use an alternative route or change trains to complete your journey. Please allow at least an extra 30 minutes to travel.

Services that normally run from London Bridge to East Croydon via Tulse Hill are being diverted via Forest Hill (in the Southbound / East Croydon direction only).

As a result, these services will not call at the following stations towards East Croydon:

• South Bermondsey

• Queens Road Peckham

• Peckham Rye

• East Dulwich

• North Dulwich

• Tulse Hill

• Streatham

Travelling from these stations towards East Croydon:

Please travel northbound to London Bridge first, then change for a direct or diverted service towards East Croydon.

Alternative Southern services continue to run between these stations. Please check live journey planners before setting off and allow plenty of extra time.

Tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on:

• Alternative Southern services between London Victoria / London Bridge and East Croydon

• Thameslink between London Bridge and East Croydon

• London Buses between London Bridge and East Croydon

Planning your journey:

To help you with your journey, you can view the live departure boards and also a live map of the network.

You can also see 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.

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

Can you tell me more about the incident?

This part of the network uses track circuits to detect the position of trains. These are electrical systems which monitor whether a train is on a section of track. They operate as part of the signalling system, which is designed to be "fail safe".

When a track circuit fails, the signalling system will interpret this as a train remaining in place, even though there may not be a train present at all, or the previous service may have long since left the area.

As a result, further trains cannot be automatically allowed onto the relevant section of track. Train drivers will be stopped by red signals on approach. They will then get verbal permission from the signaller so that they can proceed, and will run at a heavily-reduced speed as far as the next signal. This is so that the drivers will stop safely if they see anything ahead of them.

In some areas, the sections between signals can be several miles long, so this can result in delays building up. Even with shorter sections of track affected, there would still be a delay of at least a few minutes to each journey.

Track circuit faults can be caused by a number of different issues, including electronic faults or obstructions on the track. Network Rail manage the signalling system, including track circuits, and their staff will be investigating as quickly as possible.

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.