Southern Rail: Two busy routes reopen after overnight disruption in Sussex
Two overnight incidents disrupted Southern Rail services in Sussex and Surrey, with both routes reopening by Monday morning.
A points failure was reported between Gatwick Airport and Purley, in the early hours of Monday, November 2.
In a social media update at 12.15am, Southern advised: “A points failure between Gatwick Airport and Purley means that trains are unable to call at some stations when travelling northbound.”
Passengers were warned that their trains could be delayed or altered while the fault was being dealt with.
The incident was also reported by Thameslink. A post on X read: “Thameslink services towards London will be unable to call at Redhill until further notice.
“If you are travelling on the route, you should allow an additional 30 minutes to complete your journey.
As of 12.50am, Redhill, Merstham and Coulsdon South could not be served in the direction towards London.
Thameslink added: “If you are travelling on a train towards London, and you want to alight at one of these stops, please continue to East Croydon and change there for a service in the opposite direction.
“If you are travelling from an unserved station, please travel in the opposite direction first, and change for a train to your destination.”
By 1am, Southern and Thameslink had confirmed the problem had been resolved. Passengers were told: “This issue has been rectified and we are now able to run as scheduled. Please check your journey before you travel.”
A further Southern update at 2am confirmed: “Services are no longer being impacted by this incident.”
The disruption followed a separate problem on Sunday evening, which blocked the northbound line between Arundel and Horsham.
Southern first reported that incident at 10.20pm, saying: “The northbound line between Arundel and Horsham is currently blocked due to a problem under investigation.”
Passengers travelling towards Horsham and London were warned of delays and told they might need to take an alternative route. Trains in the opposite direction, towards Barnham, were still able to run.
At 10.25pm, Southern urged passengers on trains stopped between stations to stay on board.
“If you are on a train that has come to a stop outside of a station, remain on board and await further information,” the operator said.
“We know where you are and we are working on getting you back on the move as soon as possible.”
Passengers at Pulborough, Billingshurst and Christ’s Hospital who needed to travel towards Horsham were advised to press the green button on station help points for assistance.
The Arundel-to-Horsham line had reopened by Monday morning. The information supplied did not specify the cause of that incident or the exact time the line reopened.
Southern Rail advised passengers whose journeys had been delayed by 15 minutes or more that they might be eligible for Delay Repay compensation.