M23: Traffic chaos eases near Gatwick amid major railway disruption
Motorists were caught in traffic chaos on Sunday evening (June 14), amid major disruption to rail services, at Gatwick Airport.
‘Urgent’ repairs were conducted, but services were still subject to severe disruption.
Traffic in the area was impacted as a result.
An alert on AA Traffic News read: “Long delays due to the problems on the railway on M23 spur road and A23 Airport Way both ways around (Gatwick South terminal roundabout).
"Police directing traffic. A sinkhole on the tracks has caused rail services to be suspended, causing long delays to people.”
National Highways warned that delays could reach 60 minutes.
In a post shared on X, at 8.40pm, the government agency advised: “Due to urgent repairs on rail network, there is increased traffic #M23 west spur towards @Gatwick_Airport
“All lanes open #A23 west towards North Terminal after Airport Way Roundabout E
“Delays 60mins, please allow additional journey time.”
At 9pm, there were reports of ‘pedestrians in the carriageway’ towards the M23 9A Gatwick spur road westbound.
An update, just after 12.30am, stated that ‘delays have now cleared’.
Meanwhile, Network Rail has revealed that a number of sinkholes, discovered on a bridge, caused major disruption across south coast train services.
Passengers were advised not to travel for much of the day on Sunday – after emergency repairs blocked key routes, causing widespread cancellations and severe delays on services between London and the south coast.
Earlier on Sunday, Southern Rail warned customers that urgent repair works to a bridge in Purley meant trains were unable to run to, from or through the station. The operator said there were limited alternative routes available and warned some journeys could take up to 90 minutes longer than usual.
Later in the evening, Network Rail confirmed the disruption was caused by sinkholes found during planned engineering work on lines outside Purley.
In a statement posted on social media, Network Rail advised: "During our planned engineering work on the lines outside Purley, engineers discovered that a number of sinkholes had appeared on a bridge south of the station.
"For the safety of passengers, we had to close all lines between Purley and East Croydon, impacting journeys towards Gatwick Airport."
The closure severed a key route between London and Gatwick Airport, forcing passengers to seek alternative travel arrangements and causing significant disruption across Southern and Thameslink networks.
Network Rail said engineers spent the afternoon carrying out detailed inspections of the bridge and undertaking repairs.
The statement continued: "Over the course of the afternoon our engineers have carried out thorough inspections on the bridge and have worked to plug the sinkholes, allowing trains to safely run again."
Although services resumed later in the evening, passengers were warned that disruption could continue into the night.
Network Rail urged customers to check before travelling, and confirmed that tickets dated Sunday would be accepted on Monday's services, because of the disruption.