Fallen tree removed from railway line but major delays remain in West Sussex after earlier power cut

There is major disruption on the railway in West Sussex today (Friday, September 25).
Southern RailSouthern Rail
Southern Rail

All trains between Horsham and Three Bridges were stopped for hours after a power surge this morning, with services from East Croydon also affected. Trains have been unable to serve Crawley, Ifield, Faygate and Littlehaven.

A train shuttle service between Horsham and Barnham was put in place until further notice, serving all stations on this route. Read more here

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Shortly before 1.45pm, Southern Rail was advised that a tree was blocking lines in both directions between Chichester and Havant, with Network Rail teams sent to deal with the incident.

The tree was removed from the railway, with services able to run through as scheduled.

However, disruption caused by the power surge is expected to last until 4pm, at the earliest.

What caused the power surge?

According to Southern Rail, a power cable broke away from a pylon and fell onto the track in the Three Bridges area, earlier this morning.

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A spokesperson said: "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 Southern spokesperson added: "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.

"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."

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