Croydon mudslide
Holidaymakers travelling to Gatwick Airport in West Sussex suffered severe disruptions after a major water pipe leak at South Croydon led to the landslip, flooding tracks with mud.
Passengers were warned to leave three hours for journeys to the airport. Trains between London and Brighton run by Southern and First Capital Connect were affected. A number of services, including some on the Gatwick Express, were cancelled.
Richard Taylor, 54, of Worthing, was among thousands stranded at Three Bridges station. He said: ‘We have been here for hours and hours. I have only seen about three buses leave in three hours. It is absolute chaos.’
Network Rail said ‘a huge amount of mud and silt and water’ had covered four of the five lines through the area.
Dozens of engineers were working through the night to clear debris, it said.
Source: metro
