A speed restriction has been imposed over defective track between Purley and Earlswood. As a result, trains between these stations have to run at a reduced speed. Services may be cancelled or delayed by up to 10 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 09:30.

Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink customer advice:

There are delays to Thameslink and Southern services between Earlswood and Purley. This is due to a suspected defective section of track on the approach to the Quarry Tunnel, just outside of Earlswood station.

The following services will be affected

• Gatwick Express services to / from London Victoria/Brighton are cancelled
• Southern services to / from London Victoria / Reigate are cancelled
• Southern services to / from London Victoria / Eastbourne, London Victoria / Littlehampton and London Victoria / Bonor Regis will run via Redhill
• Southern services to / from Portsmouth Harbour / Horsham will run via Redhill
• Southern services to / from Redhill / Tonbridge will reduce to an hourly service from a twice-hourly service

Your journey will be extended as a result of the amendments to the above services, and you may need to use alternative transport / change trains during your journey to complete your travel. Please expect your journey to take at least 20 minutes extra to complete.

You can use your ticket on the following at no extra cost

• Great Western Railway services to / from Redhill and Gatwick in both directions
• Alternative Southern / Thameslink services via any reasonable route

To use an alternative route, please see alternative route maps here.

Check the live map here to see if your journey has been affected. We recommend you check journey planners and station information boards for the latest travel advice.

Can you tell me more about the incident?

Following earlier reports of a possible issue with the track in the affected area, Network Rail have had to put a speed restriction in place. The affected section of track is just before the entrance to a tunnel known as the Quarry Tunnel. This is located just after Earlswood station, and before Coulsdon South.

Your journey may be delayed by this, and in some cases, there may be some service changes, as this means the network has lower capacity, because trains take longer to travel along each section of track.

Teams are working with track engineers to ensure repairs are planned and completed as quickly as possible. Often, if these works involve the route being closed or a need for complex machinery, they'll need to happen overnight or during a weekend closure. Speed restrictions help prevent any further track damage until this is done.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries 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.