A fault with the signalling system between Horsham and Three Bridges means trains running between these stations may be delayed by up to 10 minutes.
Disruption is expected until 19:30.
Customer Advice
Some services heading from Horsham towards Three Bridges, Gatwick Airport and London, may be delayed by up to 10 minutes in the Crawley area.
Please allow extra time to complete your journey this evening. At present you can continue to use your normal route and if you need to use another route then we will let you know.
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.
If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner here.
Can you tell me more about the incident?
A track circuit failure is disrupting trains which travel from Horsham towards Three Bridges.
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.