A points failure at East Croydon means that some lines are blocked. As a result, trains running to / from / through this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 10 minutes or revised.
Disruption is expected until 18:00.
Customer Advice
If you are travelling through East Croydon in the direction towards Gatwick Airport, your journey will take up to 15 minutes longer than usual.
Trains which would usually run from London Bridge towards Caterham / Tattenham Corner will not call at Purley Oaks until further notice. Trains in the opposite direction - towards London Bridge - will call at Purley Oaks station as scheduled.
If you are travelling from Purley Oaks intending to travel southbound towards Gatwick Airport, please instead travel to East Croydon, then change there for a train towards your destination.
If you are travelling to Purley Oaks on a train from the direction of London, please instead travel to Purley, then change for a service in the opposite direction which will still call at Purley Oaks.
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 has been affected.
You can also use the Southern or Thameslink app to find up-to-date travel information.
Can you tell me more about the incident?
A points failure has been reported, and this is preventing trains from using some of the routes through East Croydon.
Points are moveable sections of track which can send trains onto different routes at junctions. These are part of the signalling system, generally managed by Network Rail.
Points can stop moving correctly for a number of reasons. For example, there may be an obstruction in the moving parts, or the electronic control systems may have developed a fault.
There are various backup systems which allow signallers to try to "set" the points, and in some cases, the points may be available for trains in one of the directions they serve, but not another. However, with more severe failures, the line in question may be blocked entirely.
Network Rail will send their specialist signalling and telecoms teams to the site, and they will set up a safe method of working on the track. To allow staff to access the railway, sometimes we have to stop trains completely, which can lead to your train being held at stations or signals en route.
As soon as it's safe to go on the line, the staff will diagnose the fault and find any quick solutions to resolve it.
Whilst this is being done, staff will be monitoring progress closely. At times, replacement parts may be needed, or specialist advice from suppliers, which is why some points failures take longer to resolve than others.
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.