Signalling issues affected services overnight from Purley to Gatwick and between Redhill and East Croydon, while ‘urgent track work’ will see no trains operating at all between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport on July 13
Cancelled: Gatwick Express and services between East Croydon and Brighton won’t run on July 13
Rail services from East Croydon towards Brighton were subject to delays and disruption overnight, with the Gatwick Express cancelled altogether.
A fault with signalling at Wivelsfield meant drivers were having to be talked through the signals.
A faulty signal at Salfords caused delays between Redhill and East Croydon, while another signal fault affected trains running between Purley and Gatwick Airport.
Govia Thameslink, who operate Southern, Thameslink and the Gatwick Express, blamed “a number of incidents” for the disruption, which affected trains between Brighton, Preston Park, Haywards Heath and Three Bridges. There were no services to or from Southampton and some services in Surrey were also affected.
This overnight disruption comes just as Network Rail is planning scheduled engineering work on Sunday, July 13, which will close the line between East Croydon and Gatwick for “urgent track repair work”.
“All lines will be closed for the whole day on Sunday July 13,” Southern says..
Passengers “travelling between London and Gatwick Airport should use Southern trains between London Bridge and East Grinstead for frequent bus services between East Grinstead and Gatwick Airport”, the operator advises.
Passengers “travelling between London and the south coast, including Brighton, should use train services to/from East Grinstead, where replacement bus services will be running to/from Three Bridges for onward journeys”, they add.
“This will take considerably longer than normal,” they say.
“Direct Southern trains will also run between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport, via an alternative route. Please note, this alternative route will take considerably longer than the usual service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport, so please plan ahead and leave plenty of time to reach the airport.
“Replacement buses will also run between East Croydon and Redhill [and] Tattenham Corner, between Redhill and Tonbridge, and between Redhill and Gatwick Airport.
“Journey times will be extended when using replacement buses. Buses will be limited, and queuing systems will be in place. You may not be able to board your chosen service, so please leave plenty of time for your journey.” Either that, or just don’t bother. Or use the car.
There was a significant end paragraph to the page: “Please note, journey planners are not yet up to date. Details of the train service will be live in journey planners in the coming weeks, and we will provide an accurate date as soon as possible.”
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