Passengers travelling on Southern Rail services, in West Sussex, faced disruption during the early hours, after engineering works failed to finish on schedule.

At around 4.50am on Wednesday (June 17), Southern Rail announced that services on the route would be reduced while engineers completed outstanding work.

The operator warned that trains running to Southampton and Portsmouth could be delayed, altered or cancelled, with some services starting from Barnham instead of their usual origin.

A number of stations, including Chichester, Fishbourne, Bosham and Nutbourne, were affected by the reduced service.

placeholder image — A number of stations, including Chichester, Fishbourne, Bosham and Nutbourne, were affected by the reduced service.

To help passengers complete their journeys, Southern arranged ticket acceptance on alternative routes. Travellers were advised that Southern tickets would be accepted on Southern services via any reasonable route, on South Western Railway services, and on Stagecoach Coastliner Route 700 buses operating between Portsmouth and Chichester.

Southern directed passengers to its live departures, service updates and live train map services for the latest travel information as the disruption continued.

However, by 7.15am the operator reported that the engineering works had been completed and that train services were being worked back to the normal timetable. Passengers were advised that they could once again use their usual routes.

Southern also reminded customers that those delayed by 15 minutes or more may be eligible for compensation through its Delay Repay scheme.

While the line had reopened, some residual delays were possible as services returned to schedule following the morning's disruption.