A fault on a train between Ford and Barnham means the line towards Barnham, Bognor Regis, Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton Central is blocked. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed or revised.
This is expected until 20:00.
Customer Advice
An engineering train has developed a fault, blocking the line from Ford towards Barnham.
This is now starting to cause significant disruption to trains in the area. Services in the opposite direction will also now be affected, as our trains and crews won't be in the right places.
This affects the following routes:
- London Victoria - Portsmouth / Southampton Central / Bognor Regis
- Brighton - Portsmouth & Southsea
- Brighton - Southampton Central
- Littlehampton - Portsmouth & Southsea
We don't have an exact estimate for the delay at the moment, but please leave at least 1 hour of extra time, or travel once the line has reopened.
If you do travel now, we recommend you use another route, if there's one available in your local area. Please see details below. Using another route is also likely to take longer, especially if you have to use local buses. If the incident is prolonged, we will also request replacement buses, but cannot guarantee these will be available.
Ticket acceptance on alternative routes: Your Southern ticket will be accepted at no extra cost on:
- South Western Railway services between Portsmouth and Southampton Central, Portsmouth or Southampton Central and London Waterloo, Portsmouth and Guildford, for Great Western Railway connections to/from Gatwick Airport
- Great Western Railway services between Portsmouth and Southampton Central, Guildford and Gatwick Airport
- Stagecoach buses on the following routes: - 500 between Littlehampton, Barnham and Chichester - 700 between Brighton, Worthing, Littlehampton, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Havant and Portsmouth (you may need to change buses at Littlehampton)
Planning your journey:
Live departure boards can be found here. You can view a live map of the network here. You can also see our alternative route guide here.
Can you tell me more about the incident?
A specialist engineering train is currently stopped between Ford and Barnham. There are reports that the train has lost all power, and the driver is working with their control room to deal with the fault. We don't have an estimate for when this will be done.
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.