Disruption between Crowborough and Uckfield expected until 20:00  

Route(s) affected

Between London Bridge and Uckfield

Description

A fault with the signalling system between Crowborough and Uckfield is causing disruption to journeys between these stations. Trains may be revised or delayed by up to 10 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 20:00.

Customer advice:

If you are travelling to / from Uckfield you may use your normal route to travel but please allow an extra 15 minutes to complete your journey.

Some services may be subject to residual delays. If you are travelling now, please check station screens and listen to staff announcements for more information. If you are travelling later today, please use journey planners to help you reach your final destination.

Planning your journey:

You can see the live departure boards, and view a live map of the network.

You can also view an alternative route guide.

Southern's app will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A points failure was reported between Crowborough and Uckfield earlier today, and this was preventing trains from using some of the routes through this area.

Points are moveable sections of track which can send trains onto different routes at junctions. These are part of the signalling system, generally managed by Network Rail.

Points can stop moving correctly for a number of reasons. For example, there may be an obstruction in the moving parts, or the electronic control systems may have developed a fault.

There are various backup systems which allow signallers to try to "set" the points, and in some cases, the points may be available for trains in one of the directions they serve, but not another. However, with more severe failures, the line in question may be blocked entirely.

Network Rail will send their specialist Signalling & Telecoms teams to site, and they will set up a safe method of working on the track. To allow staff to access the railway, sometimes we have to stop trains completely, which can lead to your train being held at stations or signals en route.

As soon as it's safe to go on the line, the staff will diagnose the fault and find any quick solutions to resolve it.

Whilst this is being done, we will be monitoring progress closely. At times, replacement parts may be needed, or specialist advice from suppliers, which is why some points failures take longer to resolve than others.

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.