Buses replace trains between Crowborough and Uckfield today 

Route(s) affected

Between London Bridge and Uckfield

Description

A fault with the signalling system has closed all lines between Crowborough and Uckfield.

Trains are unable to run between these stations and will be revised to start and end their journey at Crowborough.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Customer advice:

No trains can run between Crowborough and Uckfield until Tuesday 12 August. You will need to use alternative routes to reach your destination, which will increase your journey time by at least 30 minutes.

Please check journey planners and station information boards before you travel, and allow extra time to reach your destination.

You can use your ticket to travel at no extra cost on:

• Alternative Southern services to / from Polegate, Lewes and Haywards Heath

• Thameslink services between Haywards Heath and London

• Brighton & Hove Regency Buses on route 29 between Tunbridge Wells, Eridge, Crowborough, Uckfield and Lewes

• Southeastern services on routes between Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, and London

• London Underground on any reasonable route

Rail replacement buses:

Rail replacement buses have been requested to run between Uckfield, Buxted, Crowborough and Tunbridge Wells, and between Crowborough, Buxted and Uckfield.

Buses for Monday (today) are now showing in journey planners.

If you are travelling to a station by car:

Until the end of the day on Monday, 11 August, passengers with car park season tickets at Uckfield may use Crowborough, Haywards Heath, or Three Bridges car parks instead.

Planning your journey:

You can view live departure boards, and you can check the live map to see if your journey has been affected.

To help you plan your journey, you can find the alternative route maps.

Please check journey planners and station information boards before you travel, and allow extra time to reach your destination.

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

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Network Rail engineers are investigating damage to their cables which is causing a fault in the signalling system, preventing trains from running between between Uckfield and Crowborough.

Engineers have been on site but have been unable to find the fault. They have been able to determine the the fault lies within certain cables, but due to their length, some up to 20 miles, the issue has not been able to be fixed so far.

Network Rail will need to take possession of the line for an extended period in order to manually check along the cables to find the defective parts and replace them. But due to the distance of these cables this work will need to be done over a series of days.

This means that until further notice services that normally run between London Bridge and Uckfield will only be able to run to Crowborough, and there will be no train service at Buxted or Uckfield. We are planning on running buses this weekend, and today, in place of the cancelled trains, with the bus services from Uckfield continuing to Tunbridge Wells for more connections towards London.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.

For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page.

You can find the pick-up and set-down location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page.

Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.

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.