Gatwick rail chaos after sinkholes found near key bridge

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Network Rail engineers found "a number of sinkholes" during planned engineering works near the station.

All lines between Purley and East Croydon were quickly closed "for the safety of passengers," leaving travellers searching for other ways to get to and from the airport. The Gatwick Express from Victoria was also suspended.

"Over the course of the afternoon our engineers have worked to plug the sinkholes. Though trains are now running, we do expect there to be disruption into the night so we’re urging passengers to check before travelling," the company said in a statement.

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Holidaymaker Raphael described queues at the taxi office as "rammed". They waited over 30 minutes for an Uber, and when they eventually left the airport, "some people were walking along the dual carriageway with their luggage". Their journey to West Wickham took over two hours.

Others reported taxis charging as much as £250 to get to East Croydon.

Another person wrote on X: “Absolute shambles at Gatwick airport! People queuing for over 2 hours. To get network replacement coach into London. Tempers flaring amongst crowds. I’m scared!!!”

One social media user posted a video of long queues of people who had been waiting “more than two hours for East Croydon bus service”.

In a message on their website earlier, Network Rail 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.

In an update this evening, they added: “We will be accepting today’s tickets on tomorrow’s services due to the disruption today". "

"We understand this made customers' journeys between London and Gatwick Airport very challenging today, and we apologise for the impact this has had."

Southern Railway also said there were no services between Purley and East Croydon and urged customers not to travel.

Thameslink advised passengers who were unable to use their ticket today that their “unused Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express tickets will be accepted at no additional cost tomorrow, Monday 14th June 2026”.

After a social media user asked if normal service is expected on Monday, Thameslink replied that they “are not yet sure what to expect tomorrow”.

They added: “Teams will continue to work on the bridge and provide updates as and when they come through. We are here 24/7 on X, so please check in with us later or early tomorrow, and we can confirm.”

Gatwick Express wrote on X this afternoon: “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.”

For those travelling from London Gatwick into London, bus rail replacement services from the airport to East Croydon were made available.