A points failure between Lewes and Seaford means that all lines are blocked. Trains are unable to run between these stations, and will be cancelled.
Disruption is expected until 17:00.
Customer Advice
Southern services are unable to run between Lewes and Seaford. Your journey will be delayed by at least 15 minutes. Please allow additional time to reach your destination.
The following stations will not have a rail service until further notice:
- Newhaven Town
- Newhaven Harbour
- Bishopstone
- Seaford
You can use your ticket at no extra cost on:
- Brighton and Hove buses on routes 12, 12A and 12X for Brighton, Newhaven Town, Bishopstone (Hill Rise), Seaford and Eastbourne and Regency 28 between Brighton and Eastbourne
- Compass bus route 123 for a Lewes to Newhaven direct service
- Alternative Southern services via any reasonable route
Some stations on this route won't have an alternative public transport option. Southern will do their best to provide alternative road transport, but there may be a long wait. Please speak to station staff, where available. If there are no staff, you can use the green emergency button on the station help point instead, or speak to them on social media.
Planning your journey:
You can view a live map of the network here, and the alternative route guide here.
You can also use the Southern app to find up-to-date information.
Can you tell me more about the incident?
A points failure has been reported, and this is preventing trains from travelling on this route.
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 like this one, the route is blocked entirely.
Network Rail have sent their specialist Signalling & Telecoms teams to site as a priority, and they will set up a safe method of working on the track. As soon as it's safe to go on the line, they will diagnose the fault and find any quick solutions to resolve it.
Whilst this is being done, Southern 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.