I am writing to inform you of an important change to train services on Saturday 5 August network-wide. We would welcome your support in sharing this message, as it is very important that customers consider what it means for their travel plans. There is no change to the current plan for services on Friday 4th or Sunday 6th August.

Journey planners such as www.nationalrail.co.uk for travel on Saturday 5th August are expected to be updated from this Saturday, 29th July.

As context, the recent announcement of the ASLEF overtime ban from Monday 31 July to Saturday 5 August has meant we have had to carefully reassess all of our plans for the network on Saturday 5 August as this date sees peak demand for Brighton Pride with, in normal years, hundreds of thousands of additional journeys.

No services to or from the Brighton area on Saturday 5 August

It is with the deepest regret that, due to significant safety concerns, no trains will now run to Brighton or nearby stations on Saturday 5 August.

Keeping passengers and colleagues safe is the absolute priority and following discussions with the council, police and emergency services, as well as our own risk assessments, GTR has very sadly concluded that it cannot safely run any services as it would be impossible to avoid severe overcrowding and present a considerable risk to passenger safety.

In addition:

• An amended timetable will be in place across the GTR network (please see more details below)
• Stations between Three Bridges and Brighton will not be served all day
• Trains will not run along the southern coastways into Brighton because of the amended timetable.
• Services to and from Brighton will be unaffected on Friday 4th or Sunday 6th August

Every year, GTR runs a significantly enhanced service for Pride with additional late-night trains on Saturday evening. These enhancements are needed to safely transport the huge number of people that travel into Brighton during Pride’s busiest day but also home again after the popular Saturday community parade and Fabuloso fundraiser in Preston Park.

As these services are not part of the regular Saturday timetable, in normal times, these services are covered by volunteer drivers. The ASLEF overtime ban means that our volunteers cannot take part, and without the additional late-night services there is a clear risk of stranding tens of thousands of people overnight without accommodation. On Saturday evening there is always a massive demand for return travel over a short period of time, with a capacity shortfall of 20,000 passengers expected in the busiest hours of the evening alone.

Keeping passengers and colleagues safe is the absolute priority and following discussions with the council, police and emergency services, as well as our own risk assessments, GTR has very sadly concluded that we cannot safely run any services as it would be impossible to avoid severe overcrowding and present a considerable risk to passenger safety.

We cannot in good faith bring people into Brighton who we know would have no chance of getting home, or be caught up amongst tens of thousands of other people, all trying to get onto a very limited number of trains at the same time. We know that while people will understand the safety concern, this will not offset the frustration and we are really sorry to everyone who will be affected, especially in the LGBTQ+ community. We hope by making this decision now we enable as many people as possible to make alternative arrangements.

Further information specific to Brighton Pride is available at: www.southernrailway.com/travel-information/plan-your-journey/brighton-pride

Significant impact to the wider GTR network on Saturday 5th August

Regrettably, there will be a significant impact to the wider network as a result. This is because Brighton is a terminus station – so is integral to the operation of the Southern, Thameslink and, by connection, Great Northern networks. On Saturday 5th, Three Bridges will be used instead of Brighton as a turn back point for the Brighton mainline, in particular to enable Gatwick Airport and other major stations on the route to be served.

However, the added complication of significant engineering work such as between London Bridge and Tulse Hill or on the Great Northern Metro means that we have had to revert to our contingency service, as previously used on some RMT strike dates as the only available plan that can be adapted and delivered in the time available.

As on previous earlier RMT strike dates, this means that fewer services will run, some stations will not be served and some routes, particularly north of London, will start later and finish much earlier than normal. As a general rule, hours of service will be between 07:00-19:00, with some extensions, particularly on the routes that directly serve airports. It is especially important that early-morning or late-night customers for the airports on our routes check their journeys and make alternative arrangements if required.

Customer information

Our websites contain the latest information on planned services. Journey planners such as www.nationalrail.co.uk will be up to date for Saturday 5th August from this Saturday, 29 July.

We know how disappointing these changes are for our customers and we are very sorry. As always, if you have any questions, please let us know.

Best wishes,

Paul,

Paul Codd
Senior Stakeholder Manager
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)