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Sunday 18 Dec 2022

Revised rail service Sunday evening and Monday due to heavy rain

Region & Route:

Southern

*Press release issued by Govia Thameslink Railway*

Forecasts of very heavy rainfall means Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express will regrettably be running a revised service until tomorrow afternoon (Monday 19 December).

Network Rail is introducing a 40mph speed limit between 1800 Sunday 18^th and 1400 Monday 19^th December for safety reasons to routes south of Balcombe, in case of landslips and flooding. Up to 4cm of rain is expected.

All stations, including Brighton and those along the coast will see a reduced or delayed service which will be updated in online journey planners such as nationalrail.co.uk overnight tonight (Sunday). There will also be additional delays and late-notice changes on the day on Monday.

Network Operations Director for Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail Mike Paterson said: “Regrettably, for safety reasons, speed limits of 40mph are being introduced on the south of the Sussex network because of the heavy rain forecast.

“As a result, we’ll have a revised service in many places, including Brighton, with journeys taking much longer than normal.

“We hope to have the speed restrictions lifted by early afternoon but trains and crew will be out of position and it is likely that disruption will continue into the late afternoon.”

For more information, visit southernrailway.com, thameslinkrailway.com, gatwickexpress.com or nationalrail.co.uk.

Anyone who is delayed by 15 minutes or more can claim Delay Repay compensation at the train firms’ websites.