Lines have reopened following a points failure at East Croydon. Trains running through this station may still be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes.
Disruption is expected until 07:00.
Customer advice
Trains will be delayed in the East Croydon area. An earlier points failure meant services were being held outside of the area to avoid trains becoming stranded outside of stations. The points failure has now been rectified, and services are on the move.
Alternative public transport options are available. You may find these quicker for some journeys, although it will still take longer to get to your destination.
You can still use your ticket at no extra cost on:
- London Buses between central London and Purley
- Tramlink between West Croydon and Mitcham Junction (please be aware that Tramlink have engineering works operating today)
- Alternative Southern services via any reasonable route
Planning your journey:
The live departure boards can be found here.
You can view a live map of the network here.
You can also see the alternative route guide here.
If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner here.
Planning your journey:
You can see a live map of the network here. This will show where your journey is likely to be affected.
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 this area.
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 & Telecoms teams to 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, we 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.