Network Rail has completed work to repair a damage stretch of railway line near Lewisham.

Over 50 metres of line was damaged when a freight train derailed from the route last week.

Engineers and contractors moved the two derailed wagons, shifted 30 tonnes of spilled sand manually with shovels, relaid more than 50 metres of track and fitted a new set of bespoke points, including a crucial component built by London Underground at its in-house factory near Earl's Court.


Network Rail's chief operating officer Andy Derbyshire said: "It has been a difficult week for passengers on our railway and I would like to personally thank everyone for their patience while we repaired the line.

"Our teams worked around the clock to rebuild the damaged section so we could make sure commuter trains were able to run as normal from today.

"I would also like to thank London Underground for their efforts in building us a crossing, without which we could not have opened the railway, and sending their response team."

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is investigating the derailment.

(LM/MH)