TRAIN services have been cancelled and delayed after a signalling fault.

It happened between Gatwick and Redhill and is affecting some Brighton-bound trains.

Disruption is expected to continue until 7pm.

A Southern Rail spokesman said: “Due to a fault with the signalling system, one of the lines from Redhill towards Gatwick Airport is shut.

“This means that the trains that would normally run on this line have to change to the other southbound line at Earlswood and stay on this line until after Gatwick Airport.

“Trains will not be able to utilise platform 7 at Gatwick Airport and this will cause queues going through the station.

“In this particular situation the fault has been confirmed as a track circuit failure.

“This means the signalling system is unable to automatically verify if the next section of track past the affected signal is clear.

“The rail network is designed so that if a signal stops working, trains will stop before they reach it.

“Whilst this issue is ongoing, train crews will stop at the affected signal and contact the signalling centre to confirm their location.”

The signaller will then tell the driver to continue towards the next signal.

The spokesman: “This process adds time to every train’s journey, which means services can experience short delays.”

Shortly after 7pm trains were reported to have returned to normal on the line.