Holidaymakers were left stranded outside Gatwick Airport after sinkholes near a railway bridge cancelled all trains.
All lines between Purley and East Croydon were closed after Network Rail engineers discovered a “number of sinkholes” during planned engineering work outside Purley.
All lines were swiftly closed, causing chaos for travellers looking forward to getting back home.
One 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!!!”
Gatwick Express wrote on X in an update 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.”
Another social media user posted a video of long queues of people who had been waiting “more than two hours for East Croydon bus service”.
We are waiting for more then two hours for East Croydon for bus survice @ Gatwick express pic.twitter.com/fp0oFSrg8H
— Rama Krishnan (@KrishnanRa12210) June 14, 2026
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 to expected on Monday, Thameslink replies 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.”
In a statement issued later on Sunday evening, Network Rail apologized for the disruption caused.
A spokesman said: “During our planned engineering work on the lines outside Purley, engineers discovered that a number of sinkholes had appeared on a bridge south of the station. For the safety of passengers, we had to close all lines between Purley and East Croydon, impacting journeys towards Gatwick Airport.
“Over the course of the afternoon our engineers have carried out thorough inspections on the bridge and have worked to plug the sinkholes, allowing trains to safely run again.
“Though trains are now running we do expect there to be disruption into the night so we’re urging passengers to check before travelling. 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.”
