A fault with the signalling system at East Croydon means some lines are currently closed. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed or revised.
Disruption is expected until 12:00.
Customer advice:
Trains will be delayed by at least 10 minutes in the East Croydon area. Please allow extra time to reach your destination this morning. We recommend you check journey planners for the latest information and routes available for your travel plans.
The following service amendments will be in place until further notice:
- Gatwick Express services will be suspended
- London Bridge to Purley services will not call at Purley Oaks or South Croydon in the direction of Purley
- If you are travelling from either of these stations in the direction of Purley, you will need to travel towards East Croydon and catch a service back towards Purley for services connecting to Tattenham Corner and Caterham
- If you are travelling towards these stations from East Croydon, please continue your travel onto Purley, where you can catch a service back towards Purley Oaks or South Croydon in the direction of East Croydon
You can use your ticket at no extra cost on alternative Southern and Thameslink services via any reasonable route.
Planning your journey:
You can view a live map of the network here, and you can also see an alternative route guide here. You can also use the Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink apps to find up-to-date information.
Can you tell me more about the incident?
A track circuit failure will disrupt your journey in the East Croydon.
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.