A sheep on the railway between Hastings and Ashford International means all lines are blocked. Trains running between these stations will be cancelled.
Disruption is expected until 15:00.
Customer Advice
Services cannot run in either direction between Hastings and Ashford International until further notice.
Please delay travelling until later today, when the line has reopened. We are unable to provide an estimate for this at present.
If you do travel now then you'll need to use an alternative route to complete your journey. Please note that alternative transport options in this area are very limited. We'd advise allowing at least an extra 60 minutes to complete your journey.
Rail replacement buses have been requested to run between Hastings and Ashford International in both directions. Where confirmed these will be advertised on journey planners.
Tickets will be accepted for no extra cost on the following:
- Southern services between Ore/Hastings and London.
- Southeastern services between Hastings and Tonbridge/London, and between Ashford International and Tonbridge/London (not including high-speed services).
- Stagecoach Buses on routes as follows:
- 11/11A/11B between Ashford, Ham Street and Appledore
- 100/101 between Hastings, Rye and Winchelsea
You can check if your journey will be affected using a live route map here.
Can you tell me more about the incident?
We have been informed that a train has hit some sheep in the Rye area. In addition to this, there are more sheep still on the track.
Network Rail response teams are en route and attempts are being made to contact the farmer that owns the land and sheep.
In the meantime, trains cannot run through the area until the line is clear of sheep.
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.