A “do not travel” alert has been issued by the UK’s largest railway franchise.
Train operators Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express – all part of the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise in south-east England – urged passengers not to travel on Wednesday morning “if at all possible” because of “multiple incidents”.
Issues include a train derailment inside a depot in Selhurst, south-east London, and a fault with the signalling system between London Blackfriars and Norwood Junction.
Disruption is expected to continue until 1pm.
Southern told passengers: “If you are travelling on our network today, your journey may be delayed and you may need to use an alternative route to reach your destination.
“If you can, please delay your journey until later today.
“Please check your train before travelling and allow an additional 60 minutes for your journey.”
The derailment is preventing trains from leaving the depot.
⚠️NEW: #Selhurst Disruption to London Overground services between Sydenham and West Croydon expected until 07:30https://t.co/i3qSKS6itV
No-one was injured in the incident.
National Rail Enquiries said the signalling fault means fewer rail lines are available between Norwood Junction and London Blackfriars, and trains running on the available lines must travel at slower speeds than normal.
That means services are suspended on routes between: London Bridge and East Grinstead; Orpington and Luton; Brighton and Cambridge; and Bedford and Three Bridges.
Trains that usually run between Welwyn Garden City and Sevenoaks are only operating between London Blackfriars and Sevenoaks.
Services between Rainham and Luton are only running between Rainham and Dartford.
Trains that normally operate between Horsham and Peterborough, or Brighton and Bedford, may run via Selhurst instead of Norwood Junction.
A GTR spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry for the disruption that customers have experienced this morning.
“A fault with the signalling system between Norwood Junction and London Bridge, along with a train derailment at Selhurst depot, are causing the disruption.
“We’re working with Network Rail to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.
“We advise customers to check our website and social media accounts for the latest travel information.”
Passengers whose journeys are disrupted are able to use tickets on certain alternative routes.
GTR, which also includes operator Great Northern, is the UK’s largest railway franchise in terms of the number of passengers carried.
Some 18% of train journeys in the UK are made on GTR services, according to the company.
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