Lines reopened: disruption through East Croydon expected until 14:30 

Route(s) affected

Gatwick Express between London Victoria and Brighton

Southern between Watford Junction and East Croydon, between London Bridge and East Croydon / Caterham / Crowborough / Uckfield, and also between London Victoria and Reigate / East Grinstead / Littlehampton / Bognor Regis / Portsmouth Harbour

Thameslink between Peterborough and Horsham, between Cambridge and Brighton, between Bedford and Three Bridges / Brighton, and also between London Bridge and Three Bridges

Description

All lines have now reopened following an earlier fire next to the track at East Croydon. Trains may continue to be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 14:30.

Customer advice:

If you are travelling between East Croydon and Purley, you can use your normal route. But please allow at least an extra 30 minutes to complete your journey as some services may be cancelled, delayed, or revised at short notice, and you may need to use an alternative route.

For the latest information, use the online journey planners.

Ticket acceptance:

You may use our ticket at no extra cost on the following:

• Southern on any alternative route

• Thameslink on any alternative route

• London Buses between East Croydon, South Croydon and Purley

Changes to our services:

• Gatwick Express services have been suspended until further notice

• Services that normally run between London Bridge and East Croydon via Tulse Hill will terminate short at Selhurst

• Services running between London Bridge and Caterham via Purley will resume calling at South Croydon and Purley Oaks

• All West London Line services will be terminating short at Selhurst

If you are travelling from South Croydon:

If you are travelling to/from South Croydon you should be able to use your normal route. If your train is cancelled please use London Buses from East Croydon where you can connect to additional Southern and Thameslink services to help you reach your destination.

If you are travelling from Purley Oaks:

If you are travelling from Purley Oaks you should be able to use your normal route. If your train is cancelled please use London Buses from Purley where you can connect to additional Southern and Thameslink services to help you reach your destination.

Alternatively, you can travel to Sanderstead Station which is approximately a 13 minute journey away from Purley Oaks Station. You can see the route.

Planning your journey:

For help planning your journey, check live departure boards, view a live network map or see alternative route guides.

If you’re travelling within London, you can use the TfL Journey Planner.

Stay up to date on the move with Southern’s WhatsApp channel. Live updates are available Monday to Friday, 07:00–21:00.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Earlier today, a lineside fire was reported near the track in the East Croydon area.

Network Rail response teams and emergency services attended the site and safely extinguished the fire.

While teams dealt with the incident, platform 1 was temporarily closed to trains as a safety precaution. Because East Croydon is a major junction station, closing a platform significantly reduced track capacity, meaning trains had to be re-platformed at short notice, which led to knock-on delays across the area.

Safety checks have now concluded and the platform has reopened.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail real-time Journey Planner.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.