No Southern service between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction until approximately 12:00 

Route(s) affected

Between East Croydon / Selhurst and Watford Junction

Description

A points failure between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction means that some lines running between these stations are closed.

Southern trains running between these stations will either be cancelled in full or revised to not run between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction.

This is expected until 12:00.

Customer advice:

Southern services are unable to run between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction until further notice. If you're travelling along this route, you will need to use an alternative. You should allow up to 30 minutes extra to do so.

For the latest information, you should check station screens, listen to announcements, and use online journey planners.

Travel advice:

For journeys between the Clapham Junction area and the Watford Junction area, you should use London Underground to travel across London. Your ticket will be accepted on Southern services between Clapham Junction and London Victoria, and on London Northwestern Railway and London Overground services between London Euston and Watford Junction to help you connect with London Underground services.

You can also use London Underground as an alternative for the following stations:

• West Brompton

• Kensington Olympia

• Shepherds Bush

• Wembley Central

• Harrow & Wealdstone

Additionally, for local journeys along the route, your ticket will be accepted on London Overground services and London Buses along the route between Clapham Junction, Willesden Junction, and Watford Junction.

Ticket acceptance:

Your ticket will be accepted on the below services at no additional cost:

• London Buses between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction

• London Northwestern Railway between London Euston and Watford Junction

• London Overground between Clapham Junction, London Euston, and Watford Junction, including changing at Willesden Junction

• London Underground between London Terminals, and for stations between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction

• Southern between Clapham Junction and London Victoria

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.

If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner.

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

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A points failure has been reported, and this is preventing trains from travelling on this route.

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 like this one, the route is blocked entirely.

Network Rail have sent their specialist Signalling and Telecoms teams to site as a priority, and they will set up a safe method of working on the track. As soon as it's safe to go on the line, they will diagnose the fault and find any quick solutions to resolve it.

Whilst this is being done, Southern 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.