I have received communication from Network Rail concerning the partial derailment of a freight train at Lewisham on Tuesday 24 January.

'Our teams have been working round-the-clock at the incident site since Tuesday morning using a combination of cranes and jacks to get the two derailed wagons back on the tracks and moved from site. Our engineers have uncovered extensive damage to the railway. The extent of the damage caused by the wagons means that a 50m stretch of railway needs to be completely rebuilt from the foundations up, just a few metres from one of the busiest railway lines in the south east. It is estimated that the work will take several days to complete, and we hope to return the railway for service by the beginning of next week.

Due to the emergency works, there are no services from Lee, Mottingham or New Eltham and some trains between Cannon Street, Charing Cross and Tunbridge Wells will be diverted to run from London Victoria. Most evening peak trains between London Cannon Street and the Medway Towns will now depart from London Blackfriars, and the departure time will be the same as the normal time. There is also a shuttle service running between Sidcup and Dartford via Crayford.

We know that this incident is disrupting our passengers’ daily journeys and we’re sorry that it will be a few more days before services return to normal. Network Rail are doing everything we can to get the site clear and our repairs under way as quickly and safely as possible. We thank passengers for their continued patience while the emergency repair work is completed as quickly as possible during this time. We would encourage our passengers to continue to check before they travel and to allow more time for their journeys. Information will be available at stations and online, including on Twitter where our team will be sharing the most up-to-date information.'