Gatwick sinkholes leave hundreds of holidaymakers stranded with all London trains cancelled

Light shines through a railway bridge outside Purley, wreaking havoc at Gatwick (Picture: Southern Rail)

Desperate holidaymakers have been queuing outside Gatwick Airport for hours after sinkholes near a railway bridge cancelled all trains to London.

Network Rail engineers discovered a ‘number of sinkholes’ close to a bridge during planned engineering work outside Purley.

Claiming it was ‘for the safety of passengers’, all lines between Purley and East Croydon were closed leaving holidaymakers scrambling for alternative ways to get to and from the major airport.

Some reported taxis charging as much as £250 to get to East Croydon as others queued for hours for replacement buses.

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!!! #Croydon #SouthernNetworkRail #TrainDelays #London #NetworkRail #CrydonAirport pic.twitter.com/UvgehCaTv7

— Kam Singh Music (@kamsinghmusic) June 14, 2026

The operator said the line is expected to be out of action until at least until Monday morning and urged people not to travel.

‘We’re sorry to passengers who have been impacted by this and we’re working to safely open the railway as quickly as possible’, a statement said.

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

The train operator warned there were limited alternative routes which will be ‘extremely busy’ with delays of 90 minutes or more.

Southern Rail's latest travel advice

If you are travelling from London towards Brighton or a station between Brighton and Gatwick Airport/on the south coast Southern Rail advises you to use one of the two following options:

From Waterloo you can travel to Havant with South Western Railway. Change there for coast services.

From Charing Cross, you can travel to Hastings on Southeastern. Change there for coast services.

If you are travelling from the Brighton area towards London, do the opposite of this.

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