A fault with the signalling system between Bognor Regis and Barnham means that trains have to run at a reduced speed on all lines. Trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 20 minutes.
Disruption is expected until 07:15.
Customer Advice
If you are travelling now, your journey will take at least 5 minutes longer to complete.
You can continue to use your intended scheduled route, but please be aware you will need to allow at least 5 minutes extra to complete your journey.
Please check journey planners and station information boards before you travel, and allow extra time to reach your destination.
Live departure boards can be found here and you can check the live map here to see if your journey is affected.
You can also use the Southern app to find up-to-date travel information.
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 manages the signalling system, including track circuits, and their staff will be investigating as quickly as possible. We're closely monitoring progress updates.
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.