Delays between Lewes / Brighton and Haywards Heath expected until 13:00 

Route(s) affected

Southern between Ore / Brighton / Littlehampton and London Victoria

Thameslink between Brighton and London Bridge

Description

A fault with the signalling system at Wivelsfield means that trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards Haywards Heath.

As a result, trains running between Lewes / Brighton and Haywards Heath may be delayed by up to 10 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 13:00.

Customer advice:

Thameslink services from Brighton towards Haywards Heath and Southern services between Lewes and Haywards Heath have to run at reduced speed in the Wivelsfield area.

You will be able to continue your journey as normal however trains will have an increased journey times of around 10 minutes. Once trains arrive at Haywards Heath, they will be able to then run as normal for the remainder of their journey.

Planning your journey:

You can see live departure boards.

You can view 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.

The Southern and Thameslink apps will also help you plan your journey.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Trains are likely to have some delays due to a fault with a signal in the Wivelsfield area. In this case, the signal is unable to show the normal coloured light indications to drivers, and instead, it's showing a red light. This means drivers have to stop at the signal and gain verbal instructions to continue. Your journey will unfortunately take longer as a result.

Railway signals are designed to warn drivers that they have to stop because the system can't yet confirm that the route ahead is clear. In most places, the signalling system will show a green light, or aspect, when the track is clear for a long distance ahead, and drivers will then be shown one or two yellow lights to warn them when they are approaching a red signal. This means that they can anticipate the amount of braking that's required to stop before they reach another train or any form of problem on the line.

Signalling runs on "fail safe" principles, so if the signals can't step through the usual colours, they will instead show a more restrictive colour - for example, red instead of green. This means drivers will have to stop, but in fact, the route ahead may still be clear. This leads to delays.

The signalling system is maintained by Network Rail, and Southern and Thameslink are working closely with them to diagnose the fault and make sure it is fixed as quickly as possible. Until this is done, the train service will be closely monitored and the best done to keep to the timetable.

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.