Boosted train service in place for Brighton & Hove Pride – helping to bring party spirit to the south coast

• Govia Thameslink Railway has confirmed it will run additional services and lengthen some of its trains to transport crowds to and from the event

As the excitement starts to build for Brighton & Hove Pride 2023, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – which operates services in and out of the city – has confirmed there will be an enhanced service plan to support visitors on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 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.

Brighton & Hove Pride made a triumphant return last year, which saw thousands of festivalgoers dust off their sequin outfits to travel to the seaside city following a two-year hiatus due to Covid. Following the success of last year’s event, GTR will also be 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.

Jenny Saunders, Customer Service Director at GTR, said: “Brighton & Hove Pride is a huge event for the city, where people from all over the UK travel to Sussex to celebrate LGBTQ+ artists and allies. We want everyone to be able to enjoy the city’s diverse community and all that Brighton & Hove has to offer during this fun-filled weekend.

“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 home safely. Our services will be busier than usual during Pride, so passengers should allow plenty of time to travel home.”

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.

A football match is planned to go ahead at the Brighton and Hove Albion Amex stadium on Sunday 6 August, which may affect passengers’ travel plans. Please check the Brighton and Hove Albion website for more information.

GTR will again take part in the Pride Parade with a specially-designed float that will be fronted by colleagues from across the business.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• On the Brighton Main Line on Saturday 5 August, all Thameslink services between London Bridge and Brighton will be operated with 12 carriage trains
• This will be the same for all Gatwick Express services running between London Victoria and Brighton
• Trains will run late into Saturday evening on the Brighton Main Line
• On the West Coastway, services that would normally run between Brighton, Portsmouth and Southampton will instead terminate at Chichester. The revised service helps to focus capacity on areas where demand will be greatest. Those wishing to travel to Southampton and Portsmouth will be able to board onwards connections at Chichester
• On the East Coastway, many services will be running with additional carriages throughout the day on Saturday to increase capacity in and out of Brighton
• Preston Park and London Road (Brighton) stations will be closed on Saturday and Sunday to help manage crowds
• A football match is planned to go ahead at the Brighton and Hove Albion Amex stadium on Sunday 6 August, which may affect passengers’ travel plans. Please check the Brighton and Hove Albion website for more information