Southern and Thameslink services into London Bridge to be disrupted on Tuesday morning

Southern and Thameslink services into London Bridge to be disrupted on Tuesday morning

Southern and Thameslink services into London Bridge are set to be disrupted tomorrow morning as Network Rail and Thames Water Engineers work to investigate options for repairing the hole underneath the railway tracks at Forest Hill. The hole appeared earlier this afternoon and is thought to lead down to a sewer which runs underneath the tracks.

As repairs will not be completed by the start of service on Tuesday 19th July, Southern and Thameslink services into and out of London Bridge will be reduced with many services diverted or cancelled as the two lines on the route to London Bridge from East Croydon will be blocked.

The following service is planned to operate:

• Horsham to London Bridge services will be diverted to Victoria
• East Grinstead, Uckfield, Caterham and Tattenham Corner services to London Bridge will run, but will be diverted via Crystal Palace.
• Mainline services to London Bridge from Littlehampton, Bognor Regis and Eastbourne will be cancelled.

Southern and Thameslink tickets will be accepted on London Buses, London Underground, South West Trains, Southeastern and London Overground services on any reasonable route.

In a statement, Network Rail said:

Paul Rutter, area director for Network Rail, said: "Upon further investigation, the hole which was found on the railway in the Forest Hill area has now been identified as running above an active sewer. Network Rail engineers are working with our counterparts at Thames Water as quickly and as safely as possible to determine the best way to fix the problem.

"Because of the location of the hole we are unlikely to be able to run trains on all four tracks through to London Bridge tomorrow morning/this morning which will cause disruption to services that at this stage looks likely to continue throughout the day. Passengers are advised to check before they travel and allow extra time for their journeys, with further details to follow as soon as they are available. We apologise sincerely for the disruption and assure passengers both Network Rail and Thames Water are working as hard as possible to restore the railway to full capacity."

Passengers are advised to check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk and allow extra time for their journeys.