More trains for Sussex passengers

Passengers at five Sussex stations will have more trains to choose from when Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) introduces its new timetable from Sunday 10 December.

In response to requests from the local communities of Preston Park and Hassocks, their stations will gain six morning peak services into London and six returning evening peak services. These will be provided by Thameslink trains between Brighton and Cambridge making additional stops. The morning trains will leave Brighton five minutes earlier than currently, to maintain London arrival times. For commuters at both stations, the change means a doubling of morning peak services to London Bridge and the Thameslink core, and of the evening peak return services, from two to four per hour. [See Notes to editors for details.]

At Newhaven Harbour, trains between Brighton and Seaford will provide an hourly service all day, stepping up to half-hourly at busier times. This means an almost three-fold increase from 18 to 53 services per day, meeting new demand for this growing area of Newhaven and improving connections with the ferry terminal.

Glynde and Berwick residents wanting to spend evenings in Brighton will be able to stay out an hour and a half longer. The last train from Brighton to Eastbourne on weekdays and Saturdays – the 11:32pm service – will now stop additionally at Glynde and Berwick. Currently the last train serving these stations leaves Brighton at 9.56pm.

One further change is to meet the increasing morning demand for Horsham to London Victoria services via Sutton and Hackbridge. Southern will lengthen the 08.17am from Horsham from five to 8 carriages, in line with the eight- or 10-carriage trains running during the remainder of the morning peak. Several particularly popular Saturday trains on the route have also been lengthened recently, from five to eight or 10 carriages.

Jenny Saunders, GTR’s Customer Services Director, said: “We’re constantly listening to our passengers and local communities, and these improvements are designed to meet demand where they tell us it’s needed most, help communities grow, and attract new customers to rail.”

Ends

Notes to editors

Additional stops at Preston Park and Hassocks on Brighton-Cambridge Thameslink services:

Morning peak - the current 0614, 0644, 0714, 0744, 0814 and 0844 departures from Brighton to Cambridge are retimed to leave five minutes earlier and call additionally at Hassocks and Preston Park. (They will therefore depart Brighton at 0609, 0639, 0709, 0739, 0809 and 0839.)

In the evening peak, the 1453, 1523, 1553, 1623,1653 and 1724 departures from Cambridge to Brighton will call additionally at Hassocks and Preston Park. These trains will depart from London Bridge to Brighton at 1615, 1645, 1715, 1745, 1815, 1845, arriving in Brighton three minutes later than currently (21 and 51 past the hour rather than 18 and 48).

This will provide both Preston Park and Hassocks with four Thameslink trains per hour to London Bridge in the AM peak and from London Bridge in the PM peak, compared with two per hour today.

The three/four Southern services per hour to and from London Victoria will continue unchanged.