Key facts
- Sinkholes were discovered near a railway bridge south of Purley station.
- Urgent repairs are required.
- Train services to Gatwick Airport and Brighton have been suspended.
- Lines between Purley and East Croydon are closed.
- Services are expected to resume by Monday morning.
Train services to Gatwick Airport and Brighton were suspended on Sunday following the discovery of sinkholes near a railway bridge in south London. Network Rail engineers found a number of sinkholes on a bridge south of Purley station during planned engineering work. Urgent repairs are necessary, leading to the closure of all lines between Purley and East Croydon for passenger safety pending inspection by a structural engineer. The Gatwick Express service from Victoria is among those suspended. Services are expected to remain out of use until at least Monday morning. Network Rail is advising passengers to avoid travel if possible, while Southern Railway confirmed the lack of services on the affected route and warned that alternative routes would be extremely busy and could add up to 90 minutes to journey times.