No trains between Crowborough and Uckfield until approximately 22:00 

Route(s) affected

Between London Bridge and Uckfield

Description

A fault with the signalling system between Crowborough and Uckfield means all lines are blocked. Trains running between these stations will be terminated at and started back from Crowborough.

Disruption is expected until 22:00.

Customer advice:

Services that usually run between London Bridge and Uckfield will now terminate and restart at Crowborough. As a result, Buxted and Uckfield will not be served by trains until further notice.

If you are travelling between Crowborough and Uckfield, you will need to use alternative transport to complete your journey and it may take longer than usual to reach your destination.

If you are at a staffed station, please speak to a member of staff for assistance.

If you are at an unstaffed station, please press the green button on the station help point for assistance.

Please check your journey before you travel and allow at least 20 minutes of additional time for your journey.

Planning your journey:

You can check your journey using the live departure boards, and you can view a live map of the network.

The Southern app will also help you plan your journey.

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.