Brighton–London Disruption After Emergency Incident Closes Lines

Rail services through the Balcombe area have been severely disrupted while emergency services respond to an incident on the line.

Trains are currently unable to run between Haywards Heath railway station and Three Bridges railway station, with all routes through the section suspended until further notice.

Passengers are being strongly advised to delay their journeys where possible. Those already travelling should expect longer journey times, with services subject to cancellations, delays and alterations. Some trains are only operating on parts of their normal routes, meaning alternative transport may be required to complete journeys. Travellers who do need to travel are being urged to allow at least an additional 60 minutes.

The disruption is affecting a wide range of services across multiple operators, including:

• Gatwick Express between Brighton and London Victoria
• Southern Railway between Eastbourne and Haywards Heath / London Victoria / London Bridge, between Littlehampton and London Victoria / London Bridge, and between Brighton / Hastings / Ore and London Victoria
• Thameslink between Brighton and Gatwick Airport / Bedford / Cambridge, and between Haywards Heath and Bedford

Service alterations are in place and some ticket acceptance has been arranged to help passengers complete their journeys. However, these arrangements may change at short notice, so travellers are advised to check before setting off.

Major disruption is expected to continue until at least 13:00.

Image: Google Maps