A bottleneck around East Croydon has long caused ripple effects down the line, with passengers heading to Surrey, London or Gatwick often facing delays.

Croydon’s mayor stands ready to work alongside the new East Surrey council in a push to fix a major rail bottleneck in the area.

Both local authorities are calling on the government to commit funding for the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme (CARS), which aims to ease constrained rail traffic on the Brighton Main Line.

The bottleneck around Windmill Bridge Junction and East Croydon has long caused ripple effects down the line, with passengers heading to Surrey, London or Gatwick often facing delays as a result.

East Surrey Council leader Steve Wotton (Liberal Democrats : Horley West , Salfords & Sidlow) wrote to Conservative Mayor of Croydon Jason Perry last week urging them to join forces in pushing the government to take action.

He told the mayor he is “acutely aware of the consequences of the lack of funding” in Croydon’s rail infrastructure as he is a Horley resident – which sits on the affected line.

“East Surrey has five train stations which sit on the Brighton Main Line, and more stations which see downstream effects of the bottleneck in and around Croydon,” Councillor Wotton wrote.

“These stations are in principle, very well connected to London Victoria and London Bridge directly, all of the indirect services those stations facilitate and other towns and cities with employment opportunities like Brighton, Stevenage and Cambridge.

“However, the issues CARS was aiming to address leads to delays and constant unreliable services making jobs less accessible by rail and a shift to more sustainable transport far more difficult.”

He added: “We firmly believe this is a non-political issue, and one that the government must understand the scale of the benefits; we believe that working together on this issue will more likely see us succeed.”

Councillor Wotton also proposed discussions between East Surrey and Croydon’s local authorities to put together a case for the scheme and push for investment to solve the issue.

The Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme was paused by the government in 2021 during a spending review, at which time it was estimated to cost £2.9 billion.

Mr Perry told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he welcomes Councillor Wotton throwing his weight behind the CARS, and agreed that the bottleneck’s effects are “felt far beyond Croydon”.

He said: “If the government is serious about growth, it should back the infrastructure that makes growth possible. Modernising this vital part of the rail network would mean more reliable journeys, better connections and greater opportunities for businesses across the region.

“I am ready to work with East Surrey and other council leaders to make that case together. Ministers should now commit the funding needed to take the scheme forward and set out a clear route to delivering improvements at Windmill Bridge Junction. Passengers and businesses have waited long enough.”

The issue was also raised in parliament by East Croydon MP Natasha Irons on September 2, who asked Prime Minister Andy Burnham to “look again” at the scheme and work to fix the bottleneck.

Mr Burnham said he would ask Number 10 North to make contact with her “so that we can get that scheme back on track”.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Rail infrastructure is vital to supporting economic growth across the South East, which is why the government is committed to improving performance and reducing journey times along the Brighton Main Line, including through £250 million already invested in upgrades to Gatwick Airport station and track and signalling enhancements.

“We recognise the capacity constraints on the Brighton Main Line, and Network Rail continues to explore options for further upgrades.”