![\"Sinkhole](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/sinkhole-under-rail-track.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThousands of travellers have had holiday plans thrown into chaos following the discovery of sinkholes near a vital railway bridge in South London, which connects the capital with Gatwick Airport.<\/p>\n
The issue has forced the complete suspension of services along the Croydon corridor, a vital artery linking London with Surrey, Sussex and Gatwick Airport.<\/p>\n
All trains, including the Gatwick Express, have been halted in both directions through Purley, effectively severing one of the region’s busiest rail routes.<\/p>\n
The affected section forms a crucial part of the Brighton Main Line, carrying services between multiple London termini and destinations across the south.<\/p>\n
Gatwick Airport confirmed the severity of the disruption in a statement posted on X, noting the blocked rail lines at Purley have cut all train connections between the airport and both London Victoria and London Bridge.<\/p>\n
Gatwick Express posted on X: “An urgent safety inspection of the track is taking place between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport.<\/p>\n
“Trains have to run slower than usual when heading southbound through this area and this will cause delays.”<\/p>\n
In addition, Southern trains posted on X: “ALL LINES ARE BLOCKED THROUGH PURLEY.<\/p>\n
The issue has stemmed from sinkholes opening up near a railway bridge in Purley<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
X\/@SOUTHERNRAILUK<\/p>\n
“This is impacting all trains running between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria\/London Bridge.<\/p>\n
“We are advising customers: Do not travel. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to complete your journey on our services this afternoon. We urge you to use alternative routes to complete your journey.”<\/p>\n
Those heading to the airport have been advised to seek alternative routes and build additional time into their journeys.<\/p>\n
Travellers departing from Gatwick towards London can access bus rail replacement services running between the airport and East Croydon.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a-hole-opened-up-on-the-purley-railway-bridge.jpg\")
Those heading to Gatwick Airport have been advised to seek alternative routes <\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
X\/@SOUTHERNRAILUK<\/p>\n
The airport warned demand for these replacement buses is high.<\/p>\n
“Passengers at the airport may experience longer waiting times for rail replacement services, and we appreciate your patience while alternative transport is in place,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
The blockage has triggered widespread disruption across both Southern and Thameslink networks, which depend on the corridor to shuttle trains between London terminals, the Sussex coast and key commuter destinations.<\/p>\n
Gatwick Express services are similarly constrained by the loss of available paths through the area.<\/p>\n
![\"Hole](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hole-on-the-purley-railway-track.jpg\")
Engineers must complete a full examination of the damage and authorise any necessary remedial work before trains can be permitted to pass<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
X\/@SOUTHERNRAILUK<\/p>\n
Knock-on delays and cancellations are rippling outwards to routes serving Redhill, Three Bridges and stations as distant as Horsham, Brighton and Eastbourne.<\/p>\n
Local stations including Kenley, Coulsdon and Caterham, which rely on lines feeding through Purley, are severely affected by the closure.<\/p>\n
No firm timeframe has been issued for the restoration of normal services through the corridor.<\/p>\n
Structural inspections and safety evaluations of bridges can take varying amounts of time, with some incidents resolving within hours while others could take days.<\/p>\n
Engineers must complete a full examination of the damage and authorise any necessary remedial work before trains can be permitted to pass.<\/p>\n
Travellers intending to pass through Croydon, Purley or Gatwick are being urged to monitor live journey updates and prepare backup plans should services remain cancelled or diversionary routes become overcrowded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of travellers have had holiday plans thrown into chaos following the discovery of sinkholes near a vital…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[380,27,18,16,481],"class_list":["post-63000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-across-the-uk","tag-london","tag-news","tag-sgg","tag-trains"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116751477187082702","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}