A fault with the signalling system between West Croydon and Sutton (London) means that some lines are blocked. Trains running between these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 10 minutes or revised.
Disruption is expected until 07:00.
Customer advice:
Southern services will be disrupted in the Sutton area. You may need to use an alternative train this morning to reach your destination. Please check journey planners for the latest information regarding your intended service, as some ad-hoc changes will be made to some trains. Southern recommend you allow at least 15 minutes extra to complete your journey this morning.
You can use your ticket at no extra cost on the following:
- Southern and Thameslink service on any reasonable route towards your destination
Planning your journey:
You can view a live map of the network here, and you can also see the 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?
An axle counter failure is disrupting trains which travel from Sutton towards West Croydon and London Victoria.
This part of the network uses axle counters to detect whether trains are in the area. These are electrical systems which check the passage of train wheels and 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 an axle counter 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.
Axle counter faults can be caused by a number of different issues, including electronic faults and debris coming into contact with them. Network Rail manage the signalling system, including axle counters, 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.