A fault with the signalling system in the Ford area is causing disruption to journeys between Horsham / Worthing and Ford / Littlehampton. As a result, trains may be delayed by up to 20 minutes or diverted via Worthing.
Disruption is expected until 10:00.
Customer Advice:
At present we are unable to run between Ford and Horsham in either direction, and the following train alterations are likely.
- Services from Portsmouth and Bognor Regis towards London will run via Worthing
- Shuttle services between Barnham and Bognor Regis will be suspended
Alternative routes
Tickets can be used on the following alternative routes:
- Stagecoach Buses route 700
- Stagecoach route 500 between Littlehampton, Barnham and Chichester
- Stagecoach route 700 between Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Littlehampton and Chichester
- Compass 100 for Pulborough, Billingshurst, and Horsham
- Metrobus route 23 between Worthing and Horsham
- Altenative Southern and Thameslink services via Brighton
Planning your journey:
Live departure boards can be found here.
You can view a live map of the network here.
You can also see an alternative route guide here.
You can also use the Southern app to find up-to-date information.
Can you tell me more about the incident?
A track circuit failure is disrupting trains which travel from Ford towards both Arundel and Angmering. This area has a number of routes which run through it, and at present Southern are only able to run between Ford and Angmering in both directions.
Trains are not able to run from Barnham and Ford towards Horsham via Pulborough in either direction.
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.
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.