This is why trains running through Croydon and Purley were disrupted for hours

Trains running through Croydon were severely delayed on Monday evening after a vehicle hit a bridge in South Croydon.

Southern Rail and Thameslink services were disrupted for much of the evening following the crash just after 7pm on Monday (May 14).

Govia Thameslnk Railway (GTR) has confirmed engineers were called to reports of debris on the road after a vehicle collided with a bridge on Sanderstead Road, near Purley Oaks and Sanderstead stations.

The lines re-opened following structural safety checks on the bridge around 40 minutes later - but services were disrupted for the remainder of the day.

A spokesman for GTR told the Advertiser: “This was reported at 7.06pm [on Monday], between South Croydon and Purley. There was evidence of debris under Sanderstead Road bridge, indicating the bridge had been hit.

“Trains could only travel over the bridge at low speed until it was inspected and two trains had to be cancelled to create space for an engineer to do this - the 7.30pm Gatwick to London Victoria service and the 8.15pm London Victoria to Gatwick train.

“The lines reopened at 7.45pm but disruption continued until the end of the day.”

At the time of the crash, Thameslink said in a statement on their website: "Trains have to run at a reduced speed over the affected area whilst safety inspections are carried out.

"These trains can only run one at a time over the bridge, so services will be held at stations whilst waiting to travel through.

"This will cause further delays to services."

It is not the first time train services have been delayed as a result of the Sanderstead Road bridge being hit.

In April, several trains were delayed after a “lorry or dustcart” crashed into the bridge.