CROYDON commuters were left fuming and frustrated after rail chaos delayed their morning and evening rush-hour journeys on the first day back after Christmas for many workers. Engineering works at London Bridge Station led to delays and cancellations while, this evening, commuters spoke of "dangerous" overcrowding at the station. Southern and Thameslink services were the worst affected, right from the morning rush-hour, where confused travellers crowded onto the platforms at East Croydon, unable to catch their usual services to the capital. Platforms are being rebuilt at London Bridge in improvement works costing millions of pounds, but today's experiences have prompted fears that rush hour disruption will be a common occurence over the coming few months. Passengers weren't shy in expressing their anger on social media throughout the day.
@SouthernRailUK 2.5 hours to get from London bridge to norbury via West croydon. What a joke!
— Sharleen Lyseight (@Sharbean1988) January 5, 2015
@TfL Every Monday = train problems between London Bridge and West croydon. Shocking service #tfl
— Jenny Illmann (@JennyIllmann) January 5, 2015
@SouthernRailUK this service is horrific...55 minutes from East Croydon to London Bridge and you have the ordasity to charge more
— Natalie Wall (@Natalie_Wall22) January 5, 2015
Forty minutes to get from Blackfriars to East Croydon today when it used to take 15 from London Bridge. Sigh.
— Matt Baines (@mbainesy) January 5, 2015
Also on Twitter, Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell promised to take up commuters' complaints with Southern, describing the situation as "not good enough". As of 10.30pm on Monday, Southern was still warning passengers to expect delays of up to an hour through London Bridge.
