A broken-down train on the southbound line between Haywards Heath and Brighton caused chaos on the railways this morning (Monday 27 July).
Services in both directions were cancelled or delayed as thousands of passengers faced significant disruption.
At about 8.45am, train operator Southern said that all lines had reopened but the knock-on effects were likely to be felt for a few hours, adding: “Disruption is expected until 10.45am.”
At 7.43am, Southern posted a message on social media saying: “Due to a fault on a train between Haywards Heath and Brighton, the line towards Brighton is blocked.”
But with no trains arriving, passengers hoping to travel to Gatwick, East Croydon and Victoria soon found that services towards London were being cancelled.
In its latest update, Southern said: “Following a fault on a train between Haywards Heath and Brighton, all lines towards Brighton have now reopened.
“Please be aware that due to our crew and trains not being where they should be, trains are likely to be cancelled or revised.
“While service recovers, trains running between these stations may continue to be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 10.45am.
“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.”
Southern added that tickets were being accepted on buses on the relevant routes.
The Southern railway wanted to make this mainline 4 tracks instead of two, exactly because of this and they ran half the number of trains. But WW2 happened and some genius said a few years ago, digital signalling will provide the capacity of 4 tracks… Yeah, except when this happens, which is very often. Great call genius.
The BML will always be a total disaster until they add Extra tracks between Haywards heath and Brighton.