THERE is major disruption on the Brighton Mainline after a power surge caused trains to stop.

The incident is affecting services running between London and both Brighton and Horsham.

Trains on these lines may be cancelled or delayed by up to 40 minutes, Southern Rail warned.

The Argus:

Currently, Crawley, Ifield, Faygate and Littlehaven stations cannot be served.

Disruption is expected to continue until 2pm. 

A Southern Rail spokesman said: “Earlier this morning, a power cable broke away from a pylon and fell onto the track in the Three Bridges area.

"A train then ran over the cable, causing a power surge that affected the electricity supply to the railway.

 

"This, in turn, caused trains to come to a stop and the signals to momentarily turn off and on.

"Network Rail has managed to restore power to the majority of the affected routes and trains are now running again.

"The exception to this is the line between Three Bridges and Horsham, where the power cable originally fell.

"This line requires emergency repairs before trains are able to run.

The Argus:

"Due to the level of disruption caused by this incident, it will take a considerable amount of time to return the service to the normal timetable."

There are replacement bus services operating between Three Bridges and Horsham.

But this cannot serve Littlehaven Station due to a failure of the level crossing barriers at the site.

Southern Rail has provided advice to passengers looking to travel on the affected lines this morning.

A spokesman said: "Please delay travelling until later today.

 

"If you must travel now, please check journey planners for short notice alterations and allow extra time to complete your journey.

"Thameslink services between Peterborough and Horsham will be terminated and restarted at Three Bridges.

"Southern services that run between London Victoria and Bognor Regis/Portsmouth will, where possible, run via Hove.

"Rail replacement buses are operating between Three Bridges and Horsham, calling all stations.

"Please note that, due to a failure of the level crossing barriers, Littlehaven station can't be served by buses at this time.

"A train shuttle service is operating between Horsham and Barnham."

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