Lines reopened: major disruption between Norwood Junction / Crystal Palace and New Cross Gate expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

London Overground between Crystal Palace / West Croydon and Highbury & Islington

Southern between Uckfield / Caterham / Epsom / Streatham Hill / London Victoria and London Bridge

Thameslink between Horsham and London Bridge / Peterborough, between Brighton / East Grinstead / Three Bridges / Gatwick Airport and Bedford, between Brighton and Cambridge, between Three Bridges / Gatwick Airport /Bedford and Luton, and also between East Grinstead and West Hampstead Thameslink / London Bridge

Description

Lines have reopened following a points failure in the Sydenham area. As service recovers, trains running between Norwood Junction / Crystal Palace and New Cross Gate may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.

Major disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Advice for London Overground customers:

You can use your ticket on London Buses via any reasonable route at no extra cost.

Advice for Southern and Thameslink customers:

Earlier this afternoon, a points failure occurred in the Sydenham area. The fault has since been rectified, however, services are still expected to be severely delayed and may be cancelled or revised at short notice.

Southern and Thameslink are working to return to their scheduled timetable, but please continue to check journey planners and station information boards, as your journey may still take at least 20 minutes longer than usual.

Additionally, services have been further impacted by the earlier fatality affecting northern-bound trains.

Due to the level of disruption, you will likely need to change trains or method of transport to reach your destination.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on:

South of London:

• Southern and Thameslink service on any reasonable route towards your destination

• Gatwick Express services between Brighton and London Victoria

• Metrobus ticket acceptance on:

  • 100 for Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley, Gatwick, Crawley, Three Bridges

  • 400 for Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley, Gatwick, Crawley, Three Bridges

  • 420 for Reigate, Redhill (Sundays Only Earlswood, Salfords, Gatwick, Crawley

  • 430/435 for Redhill, Reigate, Earlswood, Merstham

  • 460 for Reigate, Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley, Gatwick, Crawley

  • 411 for Merstham, Redhill, Reigate - Monday to Friday only

  • 422/424 for Reigate, Redhill, Earlswood, Horley, Gatwick Airport

Central London:

• London Underground services between London Terminals and also on routes from Balham (Northern line), Wimbledon (District line), between London Bridge to Canada Water (Jubilee Line), and Battersea Power Station (Northern line)

• London Trams services between Beckenham Junction, East and West Croydon, Mitcham and Wimbledon

• Southeastern services between Beckenham Junction and Victoria (for Sydenham Hill, West Dulwich, Herne Hill), also between Elmers End and London Bridge (for Birkbeck, connections at Clock House for Kent House (SE services) and trams from Beckenham Road)

• London Buses via any reasonable route across London

North of London:

• East Midlands Railway between London St Pancras International and Bedford (for Luton and Luton Airport Parkway) and between Peterborough and Ely

• LNER services between London Kings Cross and Peterborough

• Greater Anglia services between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge.

• CrossCountry services between Cambridge and Peterborough (calls at Ely)

• Elizabeth line services between Farringdon, London Liverpool Street and Abbey Wood

Planning your journey:

Live departure boards can be found here.

You can view a live map of the network here.

You can also see an alternative route guide here.

If you're travelling in the London area, you can plan journeys on alternative routes by using the TfL Journey Planner here.

You can also use our app to find up-to-date information.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

A points failure has been reported, and this is preventing trains from using some of the routes through this area.

Points are moveable sections of track which can send trains onto different routes at junctions. These are part of the signalling system, generally managed by Network Rail.

Points can stop moving correctly for a number of reasons. For example, there may be an obstruction in the moving parts, or the electronic control systems may have developed a fault.

There are various backup systems which allow signallers to try to "set" the points, and in some cases, the points may be available for trains in one of the directions they serve, but not another. However, with more severe failures, the line in question may be blocked entirely.

Network Rail will send their specialist Signalling & Telecoms teams to site, and they will set up a safe method of working on the track. To allow staff to access the railway, sometimes they have to stop trains completely, which can lead to your train being held at stations or signals en route.

As soon as it's safe to go on the line, the staff will diagnose the fault and find any quick solutions to resolve it.

Whilst this is being done, Southern and Thameslink will be monitoring progress closely. At times, replacement parts may be needed, or specialist advice from suppliers, which is why some points failures take longer to resolve than others.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.