West Sussex trains delayed by 'major signalling fault'

The incident was reported around 7.30am near Wivelsfield, affecting trains between Three Bridges and Brighton, Hove and Lewes.

“Trains between Haywards Heath and Brighton, Lewes or Hove are being disrupted by a major signalling fault near Wivelsfield,” a Southern Rail statement read.

"Some Southern and Thameslink trains are now able to run through the area, but please expect the following changes.”

- There will be no direct Southern services between London Bridge and Eastbourne / Ore - this means there will be no service at Plumpton or Cooksbridge and for other journeys, you will need to change at Brighton;

- A reduced service will run on the direct Thameslink route between Cambridge and Brighton - south of Three Bridges, trains will run hourly at most;

- All other routes will be affected by cancellations, and some other trains will not call at the usual stations en route.

Southern and Thameslink have advised passengers not to travel at this time. If you do make a journey, it is likely to take at least one hour longer, and you will need to use another local public transport route, if one is available.

Replacement buses will not be available due to a ‘nationwide shortage of drivers’, Southern said.

Trains initially came to a stand when the ‘points failure’ happened and was being investigated. Those on-board a train that had been at a stand for some time, were asked to remain on-board and await further updates from train crews.

As of 8.10am, Network Rail response teams were on site at Keymer Junction to ‘investigate the fault further’. Due to the location of the fault, trains cannot run between Haywards Heath and Brighton, and also Lewes.

By 9.30am, some lines had reopened between Haywards Heath and Brighton.

"However, this will still cause severe disruption to services,” Southern wrote on Twitter. “We would still recommend you avoid travelling as there will be severe disruption for the majority of the morning.” Disruption is expected until 12pm.

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