Southern restores Seaford and Lewes services to timetable

Train passengers using services between Seaford and Brighton received some welcome news today after Southern Railway announced it is to restore the full timetable on the route from next Monday (26 September).

The move will see the return of half-hourly train services for passengers whose services have been mostly replaced by buses since a temporary reduced weekday service was introduced on 11 July.

Football fans of Brighton & Hove FC will also be cheering as it means Southern can better resource the additional football special services for the club on match days.

The extra services are in addition to the inner London and West London Line services reinstated on 5 September and the Tonbridge and Reigate to Redhill and London trains restored on 19 September.

Alex Foulds, Southern’s Passenger Services Director, said:
“The replacement of many of the Seaford trains with buses was understandably hard-felt by the local community and we’re sorry for the hassle and inconvenience to everyone the reduced timetable caused, brought on by the RMT’s futile industrial action over small changes we are making to working practices. We are pleased now to be able to restore the town’s full service from Monday next week.

“We made a commitment at the start of the month to restore the full timetable of services incrementally and we’re on track to deliver on that promise and in the coming weeks other services will be back too.

“We are moving forward with our plans to improve customer services on board our trains which will deliver enhanced benefits to customers. We already have over 70 staff in the new on-board roles and the reaction from passengers has been excellent.”

Train times on the Seaford/Lewes to Brighton route will revert to the original timetable. For details, visit journey planner at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

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For more information email press.office@gtrailway.com or call 0203 750 2030/1
 
Editor’s notes
The temporary weekday timetable with a reduced service was introduced on 11 July to reduce the impact on passengers and staff of unpredictable and late notice cancellations caused daily by unprecedented levels of train crew sickness.
Govia Thameslink Railway
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:
• Thameslink – services between Bedford and Brighton, Luton/St Albans and Sutton, Wimbledon and Sevenoaks
• Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn
• Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)
• Gatwick Express – Fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

GTR is now the largest rail franchise in the UK in terms of passenger numbers, trains, revenue and staff: GTR carries about 326 million passenger journeys per year, employs around 6,500 people and generates annual passenger revenues of approximately £1.3bn.

The GTR investment programme for stations includes funding for more CCTV, toilet refurbishments, new retail facilities, help points and car park improvements – as well as plans for increased motorcycle storage and improved transport integration.
southernrailway.com, gatwickexpress.com, thameslinkrailway.com greatnorthernrail.com