A fault with the signalling system at Seaford means the line is blocked. As a result of this, trains are unable to run between Newhaven Harbour and Seaford.
Disruption is expected until approximately 20:00.
Customer Advice
Southern services are unable to run between Newhaven Harbour and Seaford due to a fault with the signalling system. Trains from Brighton will terminate at Newhaven Town or Newhaven Harbour and return to Brighton from there. This means no trains will serve either Bishopstone or Seaford stations. You will need to use an alternative local route to complete your journey. Please change at Newhaven Town for Brighton & Hove Buses between that station, Bishopstone and Seaford. Your rail ticket will be accepted on Routes 12 and 12A at no extra cost. Planning your journey: Live departure boards can be found here.
You can view a live map of the Southern network here.
You can also see their alternative route guide here.
Can you tell me more about the incident? 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. Track circuits 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. In this area, trains take it in turns to run in both directions over a single section of track, as it's a less busy route. This means the track circuits are especially important, ensuring it is safe to send other trains through, sometimes in the opposite direction to the last one. Unfortunately, in this case, there is no way to reopen the route before today's track circuit fault is resolved. Network Rail engineers will be attending as quickly as possible to deal with the issue. Southern are closely monitoring progress updates.
Check before you travel:
You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.
âââââââCompensation:
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.