The incident happened near Pevensey Bay on the Sussex coast on the line between Eastbourne and St Leonards Warrior Square at around 5pm on July 3, causing delays and service changes.
In a statement on their website, Southern Rail said the incident meant that trains running between these stations could be delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.
Southern also confirmed that services between Brighton and Ore were only operating between Brighton and Eastbourne, meaning that passengers travelling between Brighton and Ore would have to change trains, adding around 30 minutes to their journey times.
Trains running in both directions between Eastbourne and Ashford International also later faced delays and alterations, with Southern Rail announcing that they would book buses to cover cancelled trains and telling passengers to expect 45-minute delays.
Passengers travelling from unstaffed stations were asked to seek assistance by pressing the green emergency button on the station help point.
(Image: Southern Rail)
Network Rail’s level crossing barriers are designed to detach on impact, a safety measure which helps reduce structural damage.
Specialist staff are required to reset and inspect the barriers before normal service can resume.
Southern Rail said: “Barriers contain a number of parts which can be sensitive to being struck by vehicles.
“They are required to have various different parts, such as red warning lights, and often have metal ‘skirts’ which prevent children and objects from bypassing the barriers.
“Also, to reduce the impact of collisions, barriers are often fitted with bolts which will take the force of the impact, and allow the barriers to detach.
“This means staff may need to reposition the barriers before the crossing can be used normally.
“Until the level crossing is assessed, Southern may not be able to run trains through the area.
“If they can run, this will need to happen at reduced speeds, and only once the track has been confirmed to be clear.”
At around 7:30pm, Southern confirmed that the barriers had been rectified and trains were able to run as usual between these stations, but said it would take some time for services to return to normal.
Those who experienced delays may be eligible for compensation.
Passengers are advised to retain their tickets and make a note of their journey details.
More information and updates can be found on Southern’s website or via National Rail Enquiries.
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