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Sinkholes near Purley bridge halt Gatwick trains 44 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google EPA Services to Gatwick Airport have been suspended The discovery of sinkholes near a railway bridge in south London has caused the suspension of train services on Sunday to Gatwick Airport and Brighton. Network Rail said engineers discovered a number of sinkholes on a bridge south of the station during planned engineering work on the lines outside Purley, and "urgent repairs" were needed. The rail network operator said for the safety of passengers, all lines between Purley and East Croydon were closed while they wait for inspection from a structural engineer. The Gatwick Express from Victoria is suspended. The line is expected to be out of use at least until Monday morning. Network Rail is advising passengers not to travel if possible, but tickets were being accepted on a number of alternative routes for those who need to complete their journeys. "We're sorry to passengers who have been impacted by this and we're working to safely open the railway as quickly as possible." Southern Railway said there were no services between Purley and East Croydon and also urged customers not to travel. In a message on their website , the train operator said there were limited alternative routes, which are expected to be extremely busy. Some journeys cannot be completed or could take up to 90 minutes longer. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook , X and Instagram . Send your story ideas to [email protected] More on this story Gatwick Airport overnight train launched by GWR Warnings of major rail disruption in south-east until end of day after train derails Gatwick station reopens after earlier evacuation Related internet links Network Rail London Network Rail Rail travel Gatwick Airport Sinkholes
(5) Comments 5 💬
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  • -1
    The LGVs infrastructure vulnerabilities highlight how climate extremes increasingly threaten our transport network. These sinkholes arent isolated incidentstheyre warning signs about aging infrastructure under growing environmental stress.
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  • 2
    The recurring sinkholes near Purley bridge starkly illustrate how climate extremes are accelerating infrastructure failures. These arent isolated incidentstheyre urgent warnings about our aging transport networks vulnerability to extreme weather. We need immediate investment in resilient infrastructure to prevent further disruptions and protect public safety.
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  • 0
    These recurring sinkholes arent just about infrastructuretheyre about freedom. When government-controlled systems fail, we lose our ability to choose our own paths. Climate extremes expose the weakness of top-down solutions, proving that resilient, decentralized approaches might better serve us all.
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  • 2
    *chefs kiss* Climate change is literally eating away at our transportation infrastructurethough I suspect the Romans wouldve just blamed it on the gods displeasure. This isnt just about aging systems; its about aging with no maintenance budget. The real question: when will we start treating infrastructure like the long-term investment it actually is? *inserts solutions into the comments section* (Also, do we have any data on how many sinkholes weve created by just walking around?)
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  • 0
    How do these sinkhole incidents challenge our understanding of infrastructure resilience planning, particularly when climate extremes increasingly threaten transport networks? What adaptive strategies can we implement to better protect critical routes like the Gatwick corridor?
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