A fault with the signalling system between Fareham and Cosham means trains have to run at a reduced speed. As a result, trains may be delayed.

This is expected until 20:00.

Customer Advice for Southern

Southern services on the route from Southampton Central towards Brighton will have some delays between Fareham and Cosham.

This is due to a signalling problem in the Portchester area.

You can still use your normal route, but please leave around 10-15 minutes of extra time for your journey. Also, please be aware this may affect connection times if you are changing between trains during your journey.

Planning your journey:

Live departure boards can be found here.

You can view a live map of the network here.

Customer Advice for South Western Railway

Trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards Portsmouth.

For further information or onward travel advice please speak to a member of staff or use a station help point.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A track circuit failure is disrupting trains in this area.

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. We're closely monitoring progress updates, and we'd like to thank you for your patience.

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.