'Person has been hit by a train' - Sussex and Surrey stations impacted by major railway disruption
Major railway disruption was reported after a person was hit by a train.
Southern Rail reported the incident at 6.45pm on Saturday (December 27).
"It is with great sadness that we report a person has been hit by a train between Streatham Common and East Croydon,” a post on X read.
"All lines are blocked between these stations whilst the emergency services work to deal with this incident.
“Southern services between London Victoria and East Croydon/Gatwick Airport or West Croydon will likely be severely affected.”
Thameslink added: “All services between London and Gatwick Airport, in either direction, are severely affected.”
Southern reported the following service suspensions, at the height of the incident:
- Between London Victoria and Eastbourne;
- Between London Victoria and Reigate/Gatwick Airport;
- Between London Bridge and East Croydon;
- Between London Victoria and Sutton;
- Between London Victoria and East Croydon.
Southern Rail added: “If you are travelling along these routes, there will be fewer services than normal or you will need to use an alternative route to complete your journey.”
An update at 7.15pm read: “The following services will be running to an altered timetable, in either direction:
- Victoria to Ore will only run between East Croydon and Ore;
- Victoria to Littlehampton will only run between East Croydon and Littlehampton;
- Victoria to Bognor Regis or Portsmouth Harbour will only run between Gatwick Airport and Bognor Regis/Portsmouth Harbour.
"The following services will now run via Crystal Palace, in either direction, or with other changes:
- Victoria to East Grinstead;
- Victoria to Epsom Downs;
- Watford Junction to East Croydon and will stop additionally at Norwood Junction;
- Redhill to Tonbridge will run as far as Reigate where possible.”
As of 7.45pm, some lines between Streatham Common and East Croydon had re-opened.
Some services were able to run between London Victoria and East Croydon but they were subject to ‘short notice changes and cancellations or delays’.
A further update at 9.35pm read: “All lines have now reopened between Streatham Common and East Croydon.
“Service recovery is now taking place, but due to the level of disruption it will take some time for us to restore our timetable.
“Please continue to leave up to 60 minutes of extra time to complete your journey this evening.”
Services across the network were still being disrupted at 11.45pm, and ticket acceptance remained in place on multiple routes.
An update from Southern Rail at 1.30am read: “We are working to return to our usual timetable, but due to stock and crew being severely displaced, this is likely to affect the start of service this morning.
“We would recommend checking your journey ahead of time in case of any ad-hoc or last minute changes.”
At 3.30am, Southern said services were returning to normal ‘following this tragic incident’.
The railway operator added: “We work closely with Samaritans and support the work they do. If you or someone close to you has been affected by this or any incident, there is always someone to talk to.
“Contact Samaritans on 116 123 free at any time, on any phone. Help and advice is only a phone call away.
"If your journey has been delayed by 15 mins or more, you can claim Delay Repay compensation which you can choose to donate to Samaritans to support their life-saving work.”
To make a claim, visit: www.southernrailway.com/help-and-support/delay-repay-compensation