Trains on the Brighton Mainline will be delayed until the end of the day, commuters have been warned.

An earlier points failure which left passengers stranded for over an hour is continuing to affect services going to and from Haywards Heath station.

The failure near Wivelsfield is causing disruption for any trains heading between Haywards Heath and Brighton, Lewes and Hove, with delays of up to 45 minutes.

One passenger previously spoke of being delayed by over an hour by the train issues. She added that she crammed onto a bus which had only standing room from Haywards Heath to Brighton.

Due to the issues, no direct service will run between Haywards Heath and Lewes. A limited rail replacement service will run once an hour.

After previously reporting that disruption was expected until 2pm, this has now been updated with delays expected until the end of services.

A spokesman for Govia Thameslink, who run Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services on the Brighton mainline, said: “Earlier today, staff were informed of a fault with a set of points at Keymer Junction, near Wivelsfield station, which is just south of Haywards Heath. Network Rail response staff have attended and made an assessment of the situation.

“At this junction, the route to Lewes diverges from the route to Brighton and Hove. The points failure means the junction cannot be used for services between Haywards Heath and Lewes, and a limited service will run to other stations. Train drivers will need to receive special permission from the signaller in order to continue, which takes extra time.

“Technical specialists are remaining on site to monitor the system, and their work will allow more permanent repairs to be planned. Unfortunately, this task is likely to take some time and it is not expected the issue will be resolved before the end of service.”

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Train tickets are now being accepted on a number of bus services between the affected locations.

A reduced Thameslink service will run between Haywards Heath and Brighton with some trains making additional stops to serve other stations.