Southeastern trains heading towards London from Rochester are being delayed, revised, or cancelled following damage to the electricity between Swanley and Rochester stations.
There are travel disruptions heading into London from Rochester as a result of damage to the electrical third rail between Swanley and Rochester stations.
On its website Southeastern advised customers that travel disruptions are expected to last up until 7pm today.
In a statement on its website Southeastern said: “Network Rail have advised the London bound line will be blocked from 17:00 - 19:00 so that repairs to the damaged conductor rail can be safely carried out”.
⚠️UPDATE: The electrical third rail has sustained damage between #Rochester and Swanley.
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) February 18, 2023
🚆Trains between these stations will be delayed, cancelled or revised.
🛠️ The line from Rochester to Swanley will be blocked from 17:00 to 19:00
ℹ️ Latest Info: https://t.co/Ym2LYWMInd
Network Rail told News Shopper that the issue is a result of a traction current issue at Rochester Bridge Junction, engineers arrived to investigate the incident and have temporarily taken a line blockage to carry out emergency repairs.
They also advised that they hope to resume a normal service by 7pm.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “There is a traction current issue at Rochester Bridge Junction which was founded by earlier reports of electricity arcing which showed the fault.
“Engineers straight away investigated the conductor rail which powers the train and have temporarily taken a line blockage from 1630 to carry out emergency repairs to allow trains to run.
“We’re hoping normal service can return by 1900.
“Passengers are being reminded to check before they travel in the meantime”.
Journeys into London from Rochester via Swanley will either be delayed, cancelled or revised, however journeys from London towards Rochester via Swanley are set to continue as normal.
Southeastern told News Shopper that they will be running a replacement bus service between Rochester and Swanley from 6pm today.
Customers who experience a delay as a result of this may be entitled to compensation.
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