Major Sussex railway incident: Person hit by a train between East Croydon and Gatwick

All lines were blocked between the stations – which has resulted in major delays across the network in Sussex.

Southern Rail said trains were being cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised, adding: “Major disruption is expected until 9pm.”

"It is with great sadness that we report a person has been hit by a train between East Croydon and Gatwick,” a Southern statement read on Twitter at 12.20pm.

"All lines are blocked between these stations whilst the emergency services work to deal with this incident.

"You should delay travelling until later between East Croydon and Gatwick as there is no train service at this time.”

In an update at 3pm, Southern said all stranded trains had now been moved.

A spokesperson added: “Emergency services are finishing all their work on the track. Once their work is completed, we will aim to reopen the lines as soon as possible.”

At 3.45pm, services were still heavily disrupted with previous ticket acceptance extended to the Eastbourne area.

Southern said: “We advise you to travel later today. If you do travel now, you will need to use another route, and expect delays.”

At 4.15pm, Southern confirmed all lines had reopened but, ‘due to the disruption’, services will ‘take some time to recover’. The train company reported delays of up to 30 minutes.

At 5.30pm, Southern added: “Heavy disruption is still expected follow the earlier incident. Please continue to check journey planners and delay travelling where possible.

“If you do travel, we expect your journey to be significantly delayed. Some services will still be delayed, cancelled and possibly have late notice alterations.”

Click here to follow the latest disruption news and travel advice from Southern Rail.

If you or someone close to you has been affected by this or any incident, there is always someone to talk to.

Contact Samaritans on 116 123 free at any time, on any phone. Help and advice is only a phone call away

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