Boosted train service in place for Brighton & Hove Pride 2025

• Govia Thameslink Railway will run additional services and longer trains to transport crowds to and from the event
• With huge numbers of people expected to travel, rail passengers advised to plan their journeys, allow extra time and buy their tickets in advance

As the excitement builds for Brighton & Hove Pride 2025, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – which operates train services in and out of the city – has confirmed there will be an enhanced service to support visitors on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 August.

Alongside the event organisers, emergency services and the local council, GTR has been planning for the UK’s biggest Pride event since the start of the year and will be running additional trains with extra carriages on many services. This will provide increased capacity to help people travel safely to the many different events held across the city throughout the weekend.

On Saturday 2 August, all Thameslink services between London Bridge and Brighton will run with 12 carriage trains, as will all Gatwick Express services running between London Victoria and Brighton. Trains running along the coastal routes East and West in and out of Brighton will also have additional carriages, to provide more room. There’ll also be additional trains to help with the crowds at the busiest times.

On Sunday 3 August with smaller attendance figures expected than the Saturday, GTR will operate a regular timetabled service, but will run many trains with extra carriages to provide additional capacity for those who might be travelling to or from the city that day.

Jenny Saunders, Customers Services Director at GTR, said: “We’re really proud to support Brighton & Hove Pride. Since the start of the year my team has been working flat out with the event organisers and our partners to plan and deliver another safe and reliable service for festivalgoers.

“We are also reminding passengers to be patient and courteous to other travellers and railway staff, who will be going above and beyond to make sure everyone gets to and from the event safely. Even though we’ll be running longer and extra trains, with so many people expected to travel our services will be much busier than usual during Pride, so passengers should allow plenty of time to travel, especially for the return home.”

Paul Kemp, Managing Director Brighton Hove Pride, said: “We welcome the news that GTR will again be providing additional train services over the Pride weekend, which becomes especially relevant if it is a hot weekend and day trippers boost visitor numbers. We have had many months of planning meetings with GTR and are grateful to the whole team for committing time and effort to plan the best possible services over the anticipated busy Pride weekend. Train services into our city are essential for tourism all year round, as well as for the future success of Pride. We are really excited to be working closely with GTR and expect this year to be one of the best.”

With little over two weeks until one of the largest Pride events GTR is providing advice for those planning to attend Brighton & Hove Pride:

• Allow plenty of time to get to and from events in the city over the Pride weekend as trains will be very busy and you may not be able to board the first service.
• Make sure you have your train tickets in advance - including for your return home - to speed things up. Buy on the Southern or Thameslink Apps or direct on our websites to avoid booking fees.
• Remember that for safety reasons any glass bottles or containers will not be allowed into stations or on to trains. Cans and plastic containers are welcome.
• It can be a long day so don’t forget to keep hydrated. We strongly advise you to carry water for your journeys to and from Pride events.
• Give yourself at least an hour to get to Brighton station from any of the festival sites on Saturday evening, as there will be large crowds leaving the city after the headline acts have finished their sets.

Once again. GTR is bringing back its rainbow queueing system at Brighton station. The colour-coded guidance helps customers to identify the correct route as they head out of Brighton after a day of fun and dazzling events.

• The green queue will lead to the East Coastway for trains towards Lewes, Seaford and Eastbourne.
• The purple queue will be for West Coastway services towards Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing and Chichester,
• And the blue queue will be for trains on the Brighton Main Line heading up to Haywards Heath, Gatwick Airport and London.

There’ll be plenty of signs and lots of staff to help ensure rail passengers are in the right queue.

As with previous Pride events, Preston Park station and London Road (Brighton) station will be closed all weekend to help manage crowds safely.

Travel information can be found on the Pride section of the Southern and Thameslink websites to help customers plan their journeys, and there’s also useful information on the Pride Travel page.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• On the Saturday on the Brighton Main Line - which includes services to and from London - all Thameslink services between London Bridge and Brighton will be run by 12 carriage trains, as will all Gatwick Express services running between London Victoria and Brighton.
• On the West Coastway route (to from Worthing / Chichester and beyond) all trains will be increased in length to run with as many carriages as possible, all day.
• On the East Coastway (to/from Lewes and Seaford), we will be running many services with additional carriages throughout the day to provide more capacity in and out of Brighton on these routes.
• Two other major events are also taking place on Saturday 2 August adding to the crowds on trains across the south coast. Brighton & Hove Albion are playing a friendly away game at Southampton, and there is racing on at Goodwood, near Chichester. Customers travelling to those events are also warned to be prepared for the crowds and to allow additional time as they may be queues to board trains at the busiest times.

ENDS