Sussex rail delays explained after multiple incidents reported

The most recent incident reported in the county was at 9.25am on Friday (May 9).

"Due to a fault on a train between Brighton and Haywards Heath, the line towards London is currently blocked,” Southern Rail’s social media post read.

"Services travelling on this route are likely to be delayed.

“We don't have an exact estimate for delays at this time, however we'd recommend you check your train at nationalrail.co.uk or on the Southern app.”

The incident was swiftly resolved, with the faulty train moved and the line towards London reopened.

This came after two hours of delays between Chichester and Littlehampton.

Southern Rail explained at 5am: “Due to a fault with the radio system between the driver and the signaller between Chichester and Littlehampton, some trains will be delayed.

“Before travelling this morning, please make sure to check your journey at nationalrail.co.uk or on the Southern app.”

At 5.15am, Southern reported that trains were ‘currently unable to call at Littlehampton’.

Services to and from Bognor Regis, Barnham and Chichester were also subject to delays.

By 5.30am, trains were able to call at Littlehampton again but services continued to be delayed.

The first train to run was the 04:41 Littlehampton to Portsmouth Harbour service, which was running with a delay of 46 minutes.

Trains running to and from Bognor Regis, Barnham and Chichester were delayed by up to 15 minutes.

At 7am, Southern added: “Services are still experiencing alterations and some delays as we recover the timetable.

“Alterations mean your train may not stop at all of its advertised stations, or will be started/terminated at a different station than planned.

“Please make sure to allow some extra time for your journey and check before travelling.”

By 7.20am, no trains were no longer being disrupted due to the incident.

These West Sussex incidents followed significant overnight disruption in East Sussex.

At 11.40pm, Southern Rail reported: “Due to a trespasser between Eastbourne and Hastings, services are currently unable to run on this route.

“If you are travelling now, you will need to use an alternative route to complete your journey.

“If your train has come to a stand in between stations, please remain on board and do not attempt to leave the train unless directed to by a member of staff. We know where you are and we are working to get you on the move again shortly.”

At 12am, Southern Rail reported that staff were aiming to still run the last services for this evening ‘once the lines are able to re-open’.

Disruption continued until 3am.

Trespassers were also blamed for major disruption in the Barnham area of West Sussex on Thursday evening. Click here for more information about that incident.

Meanwhile, a very limited service is running to and from London Victoria this morning after a points failure was reported this morning. Click here for the latest travel information.

If your journey has been delayed by 15 minutes or more you can claim delay repay via www.southernrailway.com/help-and-support/delay-repay-compensation